Leo's Special Friend
by Aster Sapphire
Summary: Food supplies is running low. Master Splinter is too sick to retrieve more from the surface. Leonardo decides it's up to him to retrieve the items his family needs before it is too late. While he is doing he makes a new friend. A friend who becomes very special him, very quickly. But soon, trouble arises that may threaten the relation between the two, and possibly end it forever.
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N): Hey guys. Okay so this is my very first fanfic EVER. I've been reading some amazing stories and decided to post my own. This takes place when the turtles are young (about eightish). As I said this is my very first fanfic. So be gentel. Please R&R, constructive critisisim is always welcome. Flames are not. If I get good reviews, I'll add more. Enjoy! ;-)**

**Disclaimer: TMNT doesn't belong to me. All charecters belong to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. **

* * *

Master Splinter glanced at his young students first at Leonardo, then Raphael. "Begin!" He yelled.

The room suddenly erupted with the sounds of the sparring match between the two brothers. Raphael threw several punches and kicks but Leo dodged them easily and then countered with an attack of his own, almost knocking Raphael off his feet and leaving him dazed. Leonardo made another attack, this time sending Raphael flying across the room.

Leo turned and bowed to Master Splinter, signaling that he had defeated his opponent.

"Very good, my son." Master Splinter said. "Your hours of extra training have paid off."

"Thank you Master Splinter." Leo said raising his head. He looked over at Raphael who was still lying on the ground. He walked over to him and offered him his hand, which Raphael angrily swatted away, as he stood up and stormed out of the dojo without a word to anyone.

Leo began to go after him but a firm hand on his arm stopped him. "Let him go," Said Master Splinter. "We should let him calm down before speaking with him."

"Yeah, he's just being a hothead." Michelangelo said. "Let's go watch TV! I think Animaniacs is on!" He said running out of the dojo with his brother Donatello.

Master Splinter began to follow, but stopped halfway across the room and began coughing violently. A concerned Leonardo turned his way and said, "Father, are you okay?"

"Just a small cough," He said. He began coughing even more Leo ran over to him and began patting his back. "Father!" He cried in concern as he continued to pat him on the back.

Donatello ran in the lair, concerned of the panic is his brothers voice. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"Go get father some water! Hurry!" Leo said.

Without any question Donatello nodded then ran out of the dojo and returned a few seconds later with a glass of water and handed it to Leo, who nodded in thanks.

"Here sensei," He said taking the cup. "Drink this."

Splinter took the cup and began to drink the water. After his drink he stood there breathing heavily. "Thank you my sons, why don't you go watch television with Michelangelo while I find something for us to eat?"

"Okay." they said in unison as they walked out the dojo and over to the couch where Michelangelo was watching TV.

Master Splinter walked into the kitchen; he opened the refrigerator and sighed. _Almost empty_. He thought to himself. Nothing was in there but a jug of water and some fruits. He then opened the cabinets and found a few cans of soup and some herbs. _Perhaps I should go see what I can find above ground_. But another coughing fit made him rethink that. This time he coughed blood into his hands. "This is no small cough." He mumbled to himself. He cleared his throat and wiped the blood on his hand on his robe, being sure to make sure it wasn't noticeable. He grabbed few cans of soup and stuck them in the microwave. Once they were warm enough he called his family to the table so they could have their dinner. The entire time they were silent. Leonardo was cautiously eyeing his father.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Leo asked. "That was a pretty bad cough you had back in the dojo. Maybe you should some rest."

"What da you know? You're eight. You ain't a doctor." Raphael mumbled.

"Why don't you just shut up Raph?" Leo yelled.

"Why don't you make me Leo?" Raph retorted.

"Enough!" Splinter yelled, slamming his fist down on the table; making everyone jump.

"Sorry sensei." Raph and Leo said in small voices.

Splinter stood up and walked away from the table and into his room; leaving his young sons at the table, confused.

"Nice goin guys." Mikey said in a low voice.

"Don't get mad at me. Raph started it." Leo said glaring at his younger brother.

"Yeah, cuz' it's always Raphael's fault." Raph said sarcastically.

"Got that right." Leo said.

The four sat in silence until they finished eating, then they all went their rooms in silence.

Leo was about to fall asleep when he heard the sound of Splinter coughing again. He got out of bed and quickly made his way to Splinters room. He gently tapped on the door.

"I am fine, my son. Return to your room." He said in a raspy voice.

Leo obeyed and returned to his room, without arguing.

But Master Splinter was far from fine. He sat in the middle of his room feeling terrible. His throat was burning and he couldn't speak without it causing him pain. He sighed. _What am I going to do? _He thought to himself. He and his family were running out of food and he was too weak to go to the surface and retrieve more. He would never send his sons to the surface without him. They were way too young and it would be too dangerous. He had no herbs or medicine to heal him. He began to meditate. Hoping to come up with an idea of how he was going to provide for his family. He continued to think and continued to come up with absolutely no ideas. He had no idea what to do. After 8 years of providing for them he had idea how he would keep his family alive.

The next day Splinters' condition was even worse. He didn't even have the strength to get out of bed. His sons had been doing their best to make him feel better but nothing worked. As time passed, Splinter did not get better and their food supplies were dangerously low. It wasn't long before his sons began to realize the situation they were in.

"What are gonna do?" Said Mikey one night to his brothers.

"I-I don't know. We're almost out of food and Master Splinter is too weak to go topside." Donny responded.

"This is it! We're all gonna die aren't we! We're doomed to starve to death in the sewers of New York City!" Mikey cried. "Nice knowing you guys, if I go first, I want you to have my comic books!"

"Shut it Mikey, you're not helping!" Raph said in a grim tone.

"What do you think we should do Leo?" Mikey said turning to his oldest brother.

"Yeah, Leo what should we do." Raph said, shooting Leo a dirty look.

"Well," Leo said ignoring Raph. "There's only one thing we _can _do, we're gonna have to go topside ourselves."

His three brothers started at him in disbelief and shock.

"ARE YOU NUTS!" Mikey yelled. "WE CAN'T GO TOPSIDE ON OUR OWN! WE'VE _NEVER _BEEN WITHOUT MASTER SPLINTER!"

"Keep it down Mikey! Master Splinter is trying to rest." Scolded Don.

"I know it sounds crazy but what choice do we have? If we stay down here we'll all starve." Leo said.

"And if we go topside we'll get spotted by some crazy scientist who'll capture us then take us to a secret lab and dissect us!" Mikey exclaimed with a horrified expression on his face.

"First of all Mikey, you watch way too much TV and second of we won't get spotted. We're ninja. Just like Splinter always says, ninjas who stick to the shadows are never seen by anyone. Think of it as stealth training."

"I dunno." Don said. "There's no way Master Splinter will let us go topside alone. He doesn't even like us going when he's _with _us."

"Well no one ever said he had to know." Raph said mischievously.

"Are you suggesting we _lie _to him?" Leo said. The thought of them lying to Master Splinter was almost as unbearable as the thought of them going topside without him. Leo had never lied to Master Splinter before, and he didn't want to start now.

"Well he isn't gonna let us go if we ask him. What choice do we have?" Raph said. "So what do _you_ suggest we do, Mr. Perfect?"

Leo didn't know what say. He hated it when Raph put him on the spot like this. Raphael knew that Leo's greatest weakness was pressure.

"I'll go." Leo said boldly, looking Raphael straight in the eye. "I'll go topside and find more food."

"You're going alone? You can't go alone!" Mikey said franticly.

"I have to! If Master Splinter wakes up and ask where I am, I'll need you guys to cover for me." Leo said.

"Whatever happened to _I won't lie to my sensei_." Raph said,

"I changed my mind. Gotta problem with that Raph?"

Raph responded by simply holding his hands up surrender.

"What if you get lost?" Mikey said.

"Master Splinter keeps a map of the city around here somewhere doesn't he?" Raph asked Don.

"Yes, he does." Said Don as he ran to the kitchen and grabbed a map from one of the drawers. He ran back to his brothers and handed the map to Leo who looked over it quizzically.

"You do know how to read a map, right?" Mikey asked.

"No, it's just a bunch of lines and words." Leo said.

"Oh!" Mikey exclaimed. "I know what to do!" He darted off to his room and came back with a big bag of marbles. "Master Splinter read me a story like this one night. Just use these skittles to leave a trail behind you when you leave the lair. That way you can just follow them back when you wanna come home."

"That's a great idea Mikey!" Leo said patting his youngest brother on his shell.

"So are you really gonna do this?" Raph asked, showing a little concern.

Leo hesitated before answering. He looked over at his brothers who were all staring at him with looks of concern, fear and hope in their faces. "Yes. I'm going to do it, _tonight_." He said.

"Yay!" Mikey said running over to Leo and giving him a hug. "We aren't gonna die! Leo's got everything under control!"

"Boy, I hope so." Raph said.

About an hour had passed since their decision and Splinter was still in his room sleeping, unaware of the plan his sons were about to put into play.

The four of them walked in silence to the manhole where they usually come and go from whenever they go to the surface with Splinter.

"Alright, I'm ready." Leo said after they'd reached the manhole. He had the bag of marbles and a small flashlight in his hands. He was starting up the ladder when someone stopped him.

"Wait!" Don said. "I almost forgot, here." He said as he reached into a small bag he had with him and pulled out a black walkie talkie. "So we can keep in contact." He said.

"Thanks Donnie." Leo said as he took the walkie talkie and stuck it in his belt.

"Good luck bro." Raph said, patting Leo on the back.

"Yeah, if you can't find anything come back ASAP." Don said.

"We'll do our best to cover for you if we have to." Mikey said.

"I'm sure you will." Leo said as he continued to climb the ladder. When he got to the top he moved to cover aside slightly to check for anyone walking by. No one was there; he opened the cover a little more and climbed out, then slid it back into place. As soon as he did a noise came from his walkie talkie. He pushed a button on the side and Don's voice came through.

"Leo can you hear me?" He asked.

"I can hear you Don." He replied back, already feeling better at the sound of his brother's voice.

"Good, now don't go too far. You might get out of range and I'll lose contact with you." Don said.

"Got it." Leo said. He released the button and put the walkie talkie back in his belt.

"Alright, here I go." Leo said to himself.

He began wondering the alleys, being sure to leave a trail of marbles behind him. Don would call him every 5 minutes to make sure he was okay. Leo didn't mind. It actually made him feel better hearing his brother's voice.

Leo had been searching for almost an hour and still found nothing; he was beginning to run out of marbles. He had lost track of time and knew he had to be home soon. All of the alleys were full of nothing but junk and stray cats, but no food or medicine for Splinter. He was about to give up and turn back when something caught his eye. He looked down a dimly lit alley and saw and some abandon grocery bags sitting near a door that appeared to be closed. He waited to see if anyone was coming out anytime soon but saw no one. Cautiously he began to make his way toward the bags. Being sure he made no sound. He even turned his walkie talkie volume down so that he could work in complete silence. He was inches away from the bags. He peered inside one of them and saw all kinds of things such as: TV dinners, fruits, soup, cookies, chips, crackers – and that was just the first bag there were two more full of things just like it-. He looked around again. Still no one came to claim the bags.

Leo reached for the closet one but hesitated. _First sneaking out without sensei permission now stealing? _He thought to himself. _No I can't….but my family needs me? Humans can get food whenever they want. My family on the other hand….._ His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of movement towards the door. "Someone's coming!" He exclaimed quietly. He looked around for a place to hide and saw a dumpster. He quickly scrambled behind with only a second to spare as someone came out of the house. He was expected to see a man or a woman but instead he saw a young girl who looked like she was his age. His eyed widened, he had never been this close to another human before. Sure he had seen them when he went to the surface with Master Splinter and his brothers, but even then they had to stay several yards away. But now, he's was only a few feet away from one.

She was about his height. Slightly shorter. She had long dark red her that fell a little more than half-way down her back. When she looked up, he noticed that she had emerald green eyes that almost seem to shine in the alley. She had cream colored skin and a small round head. She was wearing a hot pink t-shirt, jeans and black sneakers. Around her neck was shiny silver chain that was attached to a circular emerald. She sat down on the ground with a small sketch pad and a pencil and began to draw.

Leo was so distracted by her he wasn't paying any attention when his bag of marbles fell from his hand and hit the ground, making a small clanging noise. Immediately, the girl looked up from her sketch pad. "Hello?" She said in a strange accent he couldn't identify. "Is anyone there?" She asked. She began to stand up and walk toward the dumpster. "I heard a noise from there. I know I'm not alone. If you're hiding come out." She said making her way over to the dumpster.

Leo didn't make a sound. He swore he could hear and see his heart beating through his chest. She was inches way when he panicked and yelled. "Go away!"

The girl gasped and took a few steps back. "Aha, I knew there was someone there." She said. "Who are you? What's your name?" She asked eyeing the dumpster.

Leo didn't respond.

The girl looked over at the grocery bags, then back at the dumpster, then back at the bags again.

"You were hungry weren't you?" The girl asked. Silence was her only response. She backed away from the dumpster, being sure not to let it out of her sight. She then kneeled down, still watching the dumpster and dug around in the bag. Her hand came back out and in it was a honey bun.

Leo's mouth began to water. It took everything for him not to jump out and grab it from her. _Oh great, now she's going to torture me…she's gonna eat right in front my face_. But what she did surprised him. She walked over to the dumpster and set the honey bun down inches away from him. "Go ahead." She said. "It's yours. Daddy always said there were people like you here, people who didn't have enough food to eat and sometimes stole from others so they wouldn't starve." She said. "He doesn't like people like that; he gets mad when he sees them. I think it's sad though." The girl said, as she played in her hair. "Well go ahead, take it. I want you too."

Leo took a deep breath and quickly grabbed the honey bun. He ripped the wrapper off and shoved it in his mouth. It was delicious. The icing melted on his tongue as he chewed. He was finished in seconds. There was then an awkward pause. "You talk funny." Leo said breaking the silence. "Where are you from?"

"Ireland." The girl replied.

"Where's that? Is it in New York?" Leo asked curiously.

"No." The girl said laughing. "It's very far away from here. We had to ride a plane to get here."

"Why did you leave?" Leo asked.

"Daddy got a new job and said we had to move. I didn't want to. I had lots of friends in Ireland. I don't have any here." The girl said sadly.

"Oh." Leo said. This was the end of the conversation, once again leaving an awkward silence between the two.

"I want to see you." The girl said suddenly.

"No!" Leo said in a harsh tone he didn't intend. "My father says not to let other people see me."

"My father says not to give food to the needy." The girl said.

Leo grimaced at her logic, but still refused to reveal himself. "I'm not coming out."

"Fine, then I'll sit right here until you do." She said. She sat down on the ground with her back to the door and crossed her arms. She started staring at the dumpster.

Leo knew he couldn't get out without being seen. He decided to wait for her to get tired, which he hoped would be soon but instead she didn't take her eyes off the dumpster. Leo was still hungry and he needed to get home to his family. When it became clear that the girl wasn't going to give up, Leo sighed and finally said, "Can you keep a secret?" He asked.

The girl looked up and smiled, "Yes. I'm very good at keeping secrets." She said.

"You promise you'll keep mine?" Leo asked.

The girl stood up. "I promise." She said. "I swear."

Leo stood up than began to slowly emerge from behind the dumpster. He was halfway out when finally he quickly stepped from the dumpster and into the light where he could be seen.

The girl gasped. Her eyes widened as she took in Leo's appearance: the green skin, the knee pads, the blue bandana that covered most of his head, the three fingers on each large hand, the two toes on each foot and the shell. She found the shell the most interesting. He was looking at her nervously as her emerald green eyes looked him up and down several times.

The entire time she was staring at him Leo was staring at the ground. He felt ashamed of what he was doing. He disobeyed his father's number rule, and why? For the satisfaction of a human? He was disgusted with himself.

"You're afraid aren't you?" He said still looking at the ground. Noticing how she had been silent since he revealed himself.

In response, the girl stepped closer without saying a word. She then slid her small hands under his chin and bought his face to her level. She looked into his dark brown eyes and saw a mixture of fear and shame.

"You're- you're not afraid?" He asked, surprised that she hadn't run off. She lowered her hands and began to circle him. Leo didn't move. When she was behind him she slowly outstretched her hand and touched Leo's shell. Leo tensed as she began to rub it. His heart rate accelerated and he felt a feeling inside he had never felt before. The girl felt him begin to tremble and decided to stop.

"Are you going to hurt me?" She asked innocently.

"No!" Leo said sounding offended. "Of course I'm not."

"Than what's there to be afraid of?" The girl said. "So why did you try to steal?"

"I needed food for my family." Leo said. "My father is very sick. He wasn't able to bring us food and we were hungry."

"There are more…of…you?" The girl asked. She sounded very amazed rather than scared or disgusted as he had expected she would.

"Yes." Leo replied, happy that she was interested. "I have three brothers. They're just like me."

"What about your daddy?" The girl asked.

"Oh. He's not like us at all. He's a giant rat." Leo said.

The girls tilted her head sideways in confusion, but decided not to ask any more questions. "Wait here. I'll be right back." She said as she ran into the house.

Leo questioned whether or not he should run away. But before he could come to a decision the girl came back. In her arms were a few tiny bottles and a box of herbal tea that looked like the kind Master Splinter always had.

"What's that?" Leo asked.

"Give it to your daddy." The girl said. "It will make him feel better. When I start coughing very bad, this is what mommy gives me. We never use these so no one will notice they're gone." She said. She walked over to the grocery bags. "Take these too. Our shopping lady bought them by mistake. We didn't need them. Daddy doesn't like keeping things we don't need. He just threw them outside when she bought them home. He was in a bad mood." The girl said as she slipped the medicine and the tea into one of the bags.

"Why are you helping me?" Leo asked with a puzzled look in his face. "I appreciate your help but I'm also confused. My father always told us that humans would never accept us. He said most of them are judging and cruel."

"I'm not like that." The girl said defensively. "Daddy is. So is Mommy. Robyn is too. But not me. That's why I'm his least favorite. I don't think he likes me. I don't think anyone does. Ever since I moved here I haven't made any friends." The girl said as she looked down at the ground.

"Oh." Leo said. He felt bad for the girl. He began to wonder what his life would be like if Master Splinter didn't like him His brothers were also his friends as well. He couldn't imagine life without them. "I'm sorry."

"Do you like me?" The girl asked.

"What?" Leo asked.

"I said do you like me." The girl asked again.

Leo was quiet for a moment. "Yes." He said. "I like you. You're very nice. You're pretty too."

The girl looked up and she had a very big smile on her face. This made Leo smile as well. "I have to go home now." He said.

"Will I get to see you again?" The girl asked stepping closer.

"I don't know…" Leo responded, "Maybe. It depends."

"Depends on what?" The girl asked.

"I dunno." Leo said. "It just depends."

"Oh." The girl said. "Well here." She handed him the grocery bags.

"Thank you." Leo said taking the bags from her. "You've really helped a lot."

"Good. I'm glad." The girl said. "Does this mean we're friends?"

"You want to be my friend?" Leo asked. He was both happy and astonished.

In response the girl took Leo's free hand in hers and nodded. Leo hesitated before enclosing his hand larger hand around her smaller one. And it was only for a second, but he could have sworn he felt a small spark when they joined hands. She must have felt it too because she was grinning at him. He grinned back.

"I've been friends with a human before." Leo said still holding her hand even daring to grip it tighter.

"I've never been friends with…well whatever you are before." The girl said returning his grip.

"Okay then. We can be friends." Leo said with a smile. He let go of her hand and took off down the alley.

"Wait!" The girl called after him. "I don't know you're name." She said.

"Leonardo. But you can call me Leo." Leo said. "What's yours?" He asked.

"April." The girl replied. "April O'Neil."

"April." Leo softly repeated to himself. The name seemed to roll of his tongue. "Well then…good-bye April. See you soon…I hope." He said He turned around quickly ran home.

When he got back home his brothers were ecstatic to see the food he bought back. Even Raph was very pleased with him and relieved to see him home. He gave Master the Splinter the bottles and the herbal tea April gave him. Master Splinter was confused, and very angry. But instead of arguing he took the items and said, "We'll talk about this tomorrow my son." He said in an angry tone, then shooed Leo out of the room so he could treat himself.

Leo left Splinters room and headed to his own. He was exhausted. He lay in bed that night thinking of his experience. He had bought back food, medicine and met a human. He almost didn't want to tell his family what had happened. He wanted to keep it to himself. That night as he was drifting off he found himself softly repeating her name to himself. "April." "April." "April."


	2. Chapter 2

Over the next few days, Master Splinter began to rapidly recover from his illness thanks to the medicine Leo received from April. The food she gave them lasted them until Splinter was strong enough to go to the surface and continue to bring them supplies. While Leo's brothers were just happy to have food in their home again, Master Splinter was just as grateful, but also very suspicious. The only thing Leo had told him about the food and medicine was that he had found them abandon in an alley. Leo hadn't told anyone about April. While he knew that it was something that everyone deserved to know, April was _his_ special secret. _His _special friend, and while he knew it was selfish, he wanted to keep her all to himself. He wouldn't keep a secret forever, he'd tell them about her…eventually. Each night, he found himself wanting to sneak out and see her again, but didn't know how. He felt bad that she had probably been waiting for him every night only to be disappointed. He knew that if he didn't see her soon, she wouldn't want to be his friend anymore, and that was _not_ acceptable. "Leonardo, I wish to speak with you in private." Master Splinter said one day after training.

"Oooooh, Leo's in trouble, Leo's in trouble!" Mikey teased.

"Shut up, Mikey." Leo growled. Mikey just stuck his tongue out, as Raph and Don escorted him out of the layer. Once they were gone, Leo sat down, in lotus form in front of Master Splinter. "Yes, Master Splinter?" He asked.

"I never got to speak with you about your excursion to the surface, a few nights ago." Master Splinter said.

"Oh, that." Leo said in a small voice.

"You know how I feel about you and your brothers going topside alone."

"But you were sick, Master Splinter and we were running out of food and-

"That is not what I wish to talk about."

"It's not?"

"No."

"Then what did you want to talk about, Master Splinter?"

"Are you telling me the truth about everything that occurred on the surface the night you left the lair?"

Leo began to stammer. "I…I-I-I um…..I uh…"

"Leonardo…I want you to tell me what happened. I want the _truth_."

Leo mouth opened and before he was able to stop the words from pouring out of his mouth he had already said too much. "I saw an abandon bag groceries in an alley and I was about to take them but then a human came out and I tried to hide from her but I made a noise and she heard me. She figured out I tried to take the groceries and gave me some food but she said wouldn't move until I came out, and she didn't take her eyes off of me so I showed myself and I told what I was doing up there and she told me I could have the groceries and gave me the medicine!" Once Leo was finished his hands flew to his mouth as if he could shoved the words he'd just said back into his mouth.

"Leo met a human?!" Mikey's voice said from behind the screen door to the dojo.

"Mikey!" Don and Raph screamed in unison. Master Splinter strode over to the dojo door and opened it. Mikey, Don and Raph fell into a pile at his feet.

"Way to go, loudmouth." Raph muttered.

"Yeah, way to blow our cover." Don said. "Wait…Leo met a human!"

"Not just any human, a _girl _human." Raph said with a scowl.

"You really are in trouble!" Mikey said with a grin as he stood up. "I bet she's somewhere, telling all of her girlie friends about Leo. You've totally gone a blown our secret!"

Leo suddenly snapped, "April _swore _she wouldn't tell anyone and she said _I'm _her only friend!"

Master Splinter exhaled sharply and out a hand on Leo's shoulder, "Leonardo…what did you tell this…April, about our family."

"Well, I told her that you were sick and that we needed food. I also told her that I had three brothers and that my father was a giant rat." Leo admitted.

"Leonardo, are you aware of the danger you may have put in us in!" Master Splinter said in a calm, yet stern voice.

"But Master Splinter, we can trust her. She gave me her word!" Leo argued.

"That is no guarantee Leonardo, she could still. You barely know this girl, how can you be so sure you can trust her."

"I don't know…I guess…I guess I just know I can. I'm really sorry Master Splinter." Master Splinter was silent for a moment before finally responding. "Leonardo, I don't want you seeing this girl anymore." He said quietly.

"But Master Splinter I-

"My decision in _final_, Leonardo."

"Master Splinter, _please _just give her a chance!" Leo begged.

"Leonardo I said that my decision in final."

"Sensei, I _promise _you she doesn't mean any harm! She _helped _us! If it wasn't for her, you still been sick! Aren't you happy about that?" Leo said. Master Splinter opened his mouth to argue but Leo continued. "April isn't like other humans sensei, she's _different_. She helped us, in a time of need and you still think she's a danger to us. Well, she isn't Master Splinter! Aren't you always talking about how every living being deserves a chance to be understood before they're judged!?" Leo took a deep breath. He stood there and prepared for whatever consequence he was going to get for speaking in such a way to Master Splinter. He expected yelling, being sent to his room but what he didn't expect was Master Splinter saying, "This girl's friendship must mean a lot to you Leonardo." Master Splinter said.

"It does, Sensei." Leo replied.

"And you are correct. She has helped us very much. And she doesn't deserve to be judged like this…I will give her chance."

Leo's face light up and he smiled brightly from ear to ear, "So you'll meet her?" He asked ecstatically. Master Splinter nodded and Leo launched himself into arms and embraced him. Master Splinter chuckled before returning it. "I _promise _you won't regret this." Leo said as he took Master Splinters hand and began to pull him along. "C'mon I remember where she lives. She should still be out there, it's not that late."

"I wanna meet her too." Mikey said as he followed them.

"Yeah, can we come too?" Don asked.

"Of course my sons; this concerns you as well. We will all go together, as a family." Master Splinter said. Mikey and Don cheered and Raph just shrugged although secretly, he was excited to be meeting a human for the first time. So after Master Splinter was finished giving everyone the usual lecture about staying close, they all left the lair and made their way to the surface, where Master Splinter and his brothers were hardly able to keep up with Leo, who was several feet ahead of them, continuously looking back to tell everyone else to hurry up. When they got the alley adjacent from the one where Leo had met April, they the spot on the stairs empty. Leo felt his heart drop. _She's not out there! Why isn't she out there?! She was out there last time! Why wasn't she there now? _Leo continued to have a mental breakdown and was about to cry out in frustration when he heard a door open and close. Leo swung his head around the corner and felt his heart rise back up. There standing on the steps was April. She had a large book tucked under one arm. Her long red hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She was wearing a yellow polo t-shirt and kakis. She looked around and had a frown on her face. "Leonardo!" She called. "Are you out here today?" Leo couldn't contain himself, he ran out from the other alley. When April saw him her she beamed. "Leonardo! You came back!" She said delightedly. She dropped the book on the ground and ran over to Leo, and pulled him into a tight hug. Leo hesitated a moment before wrapping his arms around his waist and returning her hug. She felt so warm against him; he inhaled the aroma of her strawberry scented hair.

Still hidden in the shadows, Master Splinter couldn't help but smile as he watched the two children in embrace. He had been surprised to see that April was no older then Leo. He had been shocked to find out that April was just a child rather than a full grown adult. He figured that based on her actions with Leo, she had been a grown woman. This suddenly made things difficult for him. How was he supposed to tell an eight year-old girl to keep their secret safe so they wouldn't be dissected in a science lab? His thoughts were interrupted when he felt himself being pulled from out of the shadows so that he was look the girl straight in her wide, emerald eyes. She wasn't screaming, running away, crying, or calling them names or anything. She just stared. Not in disgust, or disapproval, but in wonder and amazement. After looking over all of them in silence for a few minutes she returned her gaze to Master Splinter. She looked straight in eyes, stuck out her hand said, "I'm April. You must Leonardo's daddy." She spoke warmly in an accent that he couldn't quite out his finger on. He stretched his own hand out and gently took hers. "Indeed young one." He replied. He was about to take his hand back when April's grip suddenly tightened. She raised her other hand to the sleeve of his robe and pulled it back a few inches so that his fur was exposed. Then she slowly began run her fingers through the fur on his arm and smile slowly crept onto her small face. Master Splinter cleared his throat and immediately April smoothed his sleeve back down and gave him back his hand.

She returned her attention back to the other three turtles who still hadn't spoken yet. One was wearing a head band exactly like Leonardo's but instead it was red, his eyes were the color of honey and his skin was a much darker shade of green then the other turtles. He was leaning against a wall looking rather uninterested, but April could tell that was just being shy. She had always been good at reading emotions. A trait inherited from her mother.

Standing next to him was a shorter one, same headband, but orange. His eyes were a beautiful shade of blue that April always liked to use when she was coloring. He was trembling in excitement and was staring at her with a huge smile on his face which, April happily returned; causing him to smile even wider.

The third and final one was just like the others. Purple head band, same style. His skin was the color of olives, and he had the same chocolate brown eyes as Leo. He was staring at her the way she stared at a jigsaw puzzle, when she was determined to solve it, but didn't know where to start.

"These are my brothers April." Leo said suddenly from beside her. She jumped at the sound of his voice. Before he was able to tell them names, Mikey, no longer able to contain his excitement, blurted, "My name is Michelangelo! But my brothers call me Mikey! Raph calls me a lot of other things, but they're bad words, so sensei makes him eat soap! You talk funny! Do you like comic books? I _love _comic books! I like the one's about silver sentry! Are you rich? Cause your apartment building is big and you look like a rich kid! Are you Leo's girlfriend?" April gapped at Mikey taking in hyper outburst. He had said everything in a single breath. She took inhaled deeply and proceeded to respond to each comment in the exact order they were said. "Hello, Mikey! My sister does that too, but mom doesn't punish her. I'm from Ireland. No. I have a cousin who owns a comic store. I don't know who that is. Daddy wanted the biggest one he could get. Mommy, makes me wear these clothes. And no we're just friends." Just as Mikey had done she has said the entire thing in one breath. Mikey, looked astonished at the fact that someone had actually been able to keep up with him.

"Okay then….anyways." Leo continued. "The one in the purple is my brother Donatello."

"Hi." Donatello said still staring at his unfinished puzzle. "His eyes then wondered to the book that she had tucked under arm. She caught his gaze and said, "It's a book about robots. The lady at the book store said I was too young to read it and the other kids laughed at me. But I didn't care I took it anyway."

Don raised an eye ridge. "You like to learn about robots?" April nodded happily and smiled.

"I'm going to work with Baxter Stockman one day." April said dreamily holding the book tightly against her chest. She noticed that Don was still staring at the book. "Would you…like to borrow it?" She asked. She held the book out to him for him to take. Don stared wide-eyed at the book before nodding and taking it from her hands as if it was 1,000 year old china. "Thanks," He said simply, yet incredulously. April simply nodded at him and smiled; he looked up from the book and smiled back. They like that for a while. Just…staring. Leo felt jealousy beginning to rise up inside of him. It was great that they were getting along. He wanted them to get along. But not _this _well. He shrugged the feeling off and moved on to his remaining brother. "The mean looking one is Raphael." Leo said pointing the turtle that was leaning against the wall.

"Hi." She said with a smile.

Raphael did everything he could to avoid eye contact with April. It all of what little strength he had to keep her from discovering that he was fascinated by her. He simply grunted as a response and turned his head away from her. "Raphael, you are being _very _rude." Master Splinter scolded.

"No he's not. He's being shy, like me." April said in his defense. "I can be shy too. People say that I'm being mean, but I just prefer to be alone sometimes. He'll talk to me when he's ready. He doesn't have to talk to me right now if he doesn't want to." Raph slightly raised his head. She was _defending _him? It was rare that any of his brothers ever defended his behavior. Let alone understand it. He raised his eyes to meet April's who was staring back at him, patiently. When he didn't respond she simply shrugged and looked away.

Master Splinter was dumbfounded. April had got along with his sons so easily and so effortlessly. She had barely reacted to them. He suddenly a felt a pang in his stomach and realized it was guilt from being so judgmental earlier in the lair. April was the exact _opposite _of everything he said there was to fear in humans. She was kind, understanding, non-judgmental. Everything he'd said she probably wasn't. "April." He said. She turned at the sound of his voice.

"Yes?"

"We have a few things to discuss."

"Okay." April said simply.

He crouched down so that he was her height. "First off, I would like to personally thank you for your aid, a few nights ago. Had it not been for you, my family and I would have been in a very bad situation. Secondly, I am sure that you have realized that my sons and I are not exactly…_normal_." April nodded and waited for him to continue. "I know you have already, promised Leonardo that you would keep our secret. But I need you to realize, how important it is that you do. If you were to tell anyone about us, bad things would happen. That is not what you want is it?" April shook her head rapidly. Of course she didn't want anything bad to happen to them. They were all her new friends, and _no one _was going to hurt them. "What kind of bad things?" She asked.

"_Very _bad things. So do you promise me to keep this secret?" Master Splinter asked sternly.

"I promise. And I never make promises I can't keep." April replied. Master Splinter smiled at the last thing she said, _I never make promises I can't keep._

"You are far more mature than your years." Master Splinter said with a smile as he stood back up. "Well, it is probably time that my sons and return home. You should back inside as well. You should not be sitting out here all alone." April nodded. "It was nice to meet you. Does this mean all of you are my friends too?"

"Sure we are! We're like, _totally _best friends now!" Mikey beamed.

"Good, so I'll you again tomorrow night?"

Leo, Don, Raph and Mikey all looked at Master Splinter who nodded in approval.

"We'll be here." Leo said with a smile.

"Now, come my sons. We must leave." Master Splinter said. "Good night, April. It was a pleasure meeting you." He retreated into the darkness, followed by Mikey, Don, and Raph. Each of them casting one last glance at her. When Raph left he finally found his voice and said, "You're not half bad. For a _girl _human that is." Then, he vanished as well. April would've furrowed her brow in confusion but instead was just happy that had finally decided to talk to her. Leo and April were now the only ones left in the ally. When Leo turned to leave, April grabbed his arm. "Wait." She said.

"What is it?" Leo asked.

"Thank you." She said with a smile.

"For what?"

"For coming back." She leaned in closer and planted a light kiss on his cheek, before running back into her apartment.

Leo's hand lightly touched the area where April had just kissed him. He stood there. Frozen. Hand on his cheek. Staring ahead of blankly. He was bought back to reality at the sounds of his brothers calling name. "Coming! I'm coming!" He yelled as he ran to catch up with his family. April peeked her head out of the door just in time to see the darkness swallow him as well. "Thank you for coming back." She whispered. "Thank you for coming back."


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N): Yay another up! I like to thank everyone who's added this story to their favorites and/or decided to follow it and of course me reviewers. Thanks Guys! ;-D Review, Review, Review! I apologize for any mistakes. Please point them out and if you have any constructive criticism, leave it in a review or PM me. It's always welcome. This particular chapter focuses on how April gets along with the guys and Master Splinter. I'll try to have more April and Leo centric stuff next chapter. Only as friends though. They're eight. Don't think dirty. No romance between them…for now atleast…**

**Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah not mine. Blah, blah don't own them. Blah, Blah, Blah just write about them for fun. **

Visiting April had quickly become a joy to the Hamato clan. It was almost some sort of ritual. She would wait for them, they would come by. She would always have snacks prepared for them. Even though Master Splinter insisted that she shouldn't go through the trouble, he didn't complain when she offered double layer chocolate cake and a tall glass of warm milk. He would sit back and enjoy his dessert as his watched his sons and their new friend interact. She was a very special girl. She had something special in common with each of his sons that made it easy for them to get along. She was as hyper and open-minded as Mikey. She laughed at all of his jokes, listened to all of fantasies about being a superhero, and while she was doing so she wouldn't laugh or tease him like his brothers would. She would encourage him and give ideas. She even started helping him choose his costume and his name. They would lie on the ground drawing on sketch pads and show each other their drawing. They would offer criticism or compliments and then start working on a single sketch together. She would always applaud the pranks he would play on his brothers and would even manage to prank him herself, which was something his brothers were never able to do.

Raph was rather tricky to get along with. He didn't hate her or anything but like she said, even though he had said a few words to her the first time he met her, he just wasn't ready to get all buddy-buddy with her yet. He would come over with his brothers and she would "Hi." He would reply and she would try to start a conversation. When he didn't respond she would just nod and move on to one of brothers. She was patient with him. She didn't try to force him into a conversation; she wouldn't get upset and call him rude when he didn't respond. She would just wait. Although Raph would never admit it, this made him feel horrible. She didn't deserve this kind of treatment from him, so his decided that he would finally try and speak to her. One night when they came over, he and April shared their usual interactions. She said hi, he waved back, but this time was going to be different. This time _he _was going to start the conversation. So he asked the first thing that came to his mind, "Do you watch wrestling?" He asked. When asked the question just stared at him and beamed and nodded. And because of those five simple words the two of them found something they had in common. Every Monday and Friday night they would go on and on about their favorite wrestlers. They argue over who they thought was best and would practically go to war over anything John Cena related. April would say that he was going to be WWE champion forever while Raph would just say back, "Cena Sucks!" After that they would go back and forth until finally they decided to agree to disagree. They bonded that way over time and soon enough, she was close to him as she was his brothers.

Don and April got along so easily that one would've thought they had known each other all their lives. Don and April had one particular thing in common. Their love and passion for knowledge. Whenever April said she had homework, Don would practically beg to help with her it. They were much more intelligent than they should be at that age. In fact, April had skipped two grades and was in 5th grade at age eight. She would bring home her textbooks and let Don read through them. When they were working on her homework together, it was as if they had some kind of telepathic link to each other. They would get stuck on a problem, work on it for a few minutes, and then at exactly the same time they would drop the pencils, look up at each other and say, "I got it!" They cock their heads, giggle then once again say in unison, "You go first! No you! Together! 1…2…3! The answer is 47!" Then they would both have laughing fits and roll around on the ground clutching their stomachs as they howled, totally forgetting that they were supposed to be doing any serious work. Don was always telling her lucky she was, and that he'd always wanted to go this school. Taking pity on him, April began taking notes in classes. She would write down everything her teacher said that day and bring them home to Don to look over. She would keep the notes in a purple notebook, which Don would take home with home him. He stay would stay up for hours studying them over, and over.

With April and Leo, there was no specific thing they had in common, no joy that both shared, no hobby they both had. Their relationship with each other was just platonic. She had no favorites and loved them all equally, but whenever she saw Leo she had a special smile that she would save just for him. They would ask each other more personal things. She would ask him why ninjitsu was so important to him. She would ask why he and Raph didn't seem to get along and why he was so much more serious than his brothers. He would ask her about her life back in Ireland, why she seemed so distant from her family and why she couldn't see make many friends at school. Most of the time, they wouldn't answer each other, they would simply shrug and just say, "Just because." or "I don't know" or "Let's talk about something else." So they would drop the topic and pick up on something else their favorite TV shows or music and would simply banter until it was time for them to leave. Every time it was time for them to go, Leo would stay behind with April. They would give each other a tight hug and she would plant a kiss on his cheek before going back into her apartment. This was something that she only did for him. None of them got that kind treatment. Besides, it's not like they _needed _it. They each already had something special with April. Mikey had someone to share his jokes and superhero aspirations with, Raph had someone who finally understood why he preferred to be alone, and Don had someone who shared his passion for knowledge, and Leo had secret hugs and kisses. That was good enough for him. He never told anyone about them, when they asked why he was always the last one to leave. He would simply say that they were just talking, and then drop the conversation. Not telling anyone about his little secret.

There was something about Master Splinter, although she didn't know what, that made her feel warm inside whenever she saw him. Whenever he emerged from the adjacent alley she just instantly felt a joy in side of her she had never felt with anyone else before. Perhaps it was the he always asked about her life, and praised her whenever she told him something good she'd done at school. Things her own father had always been too busy to do for her. He would ruffle her hair, pat her on her back, support her when she was faced with a difficult challenge. Things that every girl deserves from her father, but she just didn't get some reason. Sometimes, she found herself looking on in envy at the way Master Splinter interacted with his sons, and soon enough she realized that that's what she wanted in a father. She wanted a hug, a kiss goodnight, to hear he was glad to see her when got home. _Anything_, heck, she'd even settle for being disciplined; anything that what give her a sign that her father actually cared about her. After giving it a lot of thought she deiced that she wanted Master Splinter to be her new father. Although she would never call him that straight to his face in fear of looking silly, she gave up on competing with her dad's job for attention. So instead she started telling Master Splinter everything about her day at school, all about her nightmares and what she wanted to be when she grew up. While she talked, he would sit back and listen with full interest. He wouldn't wave her off or interrupt her to answer a phone call. He would just…listen. And she liked that.

In fact, April liked everything the new friends she had. She liked how she could be herself around each and every one of them, she liked how much they cared for her, and she liked how they visited her every night. And even it was just for a little while, she had a warm feeling that lasted in her until the next time she saw them. They weren't just her new friends. They were her new family.

It was time for the guys leave again and a small piece of her felt sad to see them go, but it quickly vanished when realized that they always had tomorrow night. She gave them their good-byes one by one until it was just her and Leo left. She gave him a quick hug, and planted a kiss on his cheek. Then gave him that smile. That special smile, that she saved just for him, as they went their separate ways.


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N): Hey guys! Another day another chapter! Once again thanks to all of my reviewers, story followers, and everyone who has added this to their favorites. And you've read story but just don't review or anything well thanks to you too. It's the view that counts. Thanks a Bunch! **

**Disclaimer: TMNT and all characters do not belong…you know what SCREW IT! I'm sick of this. I know I don't I own them; YOU know I don't own them, THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THEM KNOW I DON'T OWN THEM! This is so pointless! No one even reads these things! If you're reading this STOP IT AND PAY ATTENTION TO THE STORY! I READ THE STORY, I SAY! **

"Hiya April!" Mikey said with a smile as they made that familiar turn around the corner and into the alley where they always meet April.

"Hi Master Splinter! Hey guys!"

"Hello, April." Master Splinter greeted warmly.  
"Hi, April!" Leo and Don in unison with a wave.

"Wassup, Ape?" Raph said with a nod. April gapped and wrinkled her nose. "Don't call me that." She said.

"Don't call you what?"

"Don't call me Ape. An ape is a big, scary, monkey. I'm not a bight scary monkey so don't call me that."

"It's a nickname for you! We have nicknames."

"That's because _your _names are long, funny, and hard to say. Mine isn't so I don't need one."

"Whatever, Ape."

"She said she doesn't want you calling her that Raph!" Leo yelled. Everyone looked at him in shock as he stood there glaring at his red clad brother. Just then there was a boom of thunder and flash lightning and then rain started to pour.

"Oh no, it's raining." April said a frown. "You guys should come inside with me."

"We appreciate the offer April, but we must be in our way. Besides, I have already told you how important it is that no one else sees us." Master Splinter said.

"No one will see you." April assured.

"What about your babysitter?"

"Jodie said she had to go somewhere and that she'd be back in a few hours. Besides, it's storming. You can't go home when it's storming." Another boom of thunder and the rain picked up and hail began to fall. April hurriedly opened the door to her apartment and went inside. She held the door open and waited for the others to come in. After a few puppy dog looks from his sons and having one to many pieces of hail hit him on the head, Master Splinter finally stepped inside, followed by his sons. April beamed as she closed the door behind them.

When the Hamato clan was inside April's apartment they found themselves staring around the room in awe. The furniture in living room in front of them was Victorian. There was a plasma screen hanging on the wall. Across from the living room was a modern style kitchen with a large island in the middle and a small round table next a window that overlooked the city. April disappeared into a nearby hallway and came back with six large towels that just barely covered her entire upper body, allowing only her eyes to peek over the top. "Here you go." She said from behind the wall of towels. Each of them took a towel thanked her, as she rubbed her own towel on her wet hair.

"So your babysitter left you here all alone? She sounds rather irresponsible. You should inform your parents and ask for a new one." Master Splinter said as he dried himself off.

"Nah, if I asked for a babysitter who pays more attention, I wouldn't be able to get away with seeing you guys." April says with a warm smile that Master Splinter returns. He didn't realize how important she had become to them. She was actually willing to leave herself in the care of in irresponsible person, so that she could continue to see them. The girls, altruism and zest interest in seeing them, never ceases to amaze him.

"Wow, April. You have a really nice apartment." Don marvels as he looks around the spacious first floor.

"Yeah, it's huge!" Mikey says.

"Thank you. You can look around if you want to. There are cookies in the pantry, if you get hungry." April says.

"Cookies!" Mikey, Don, and Raph scream in unison as they take off into the kitchen. Master Splinter sighs and follows them into the kitchen muttering, "The last thing I need is for them to be hyper."

Leo and April stood there alone, "You don't want cookies?" April asks Leo.

"Nah, I'm not hungry."

"Oh…then, do you want to see my room?" April asks. Leo cast a glance into the kitchen where Master Splinter is trying to wrestle the box of cookies from Mikey.

"Uh…sure. Why not." Leo says with a shrug.

"Good!" April says. She takes his hand and pulls him after her as she leads him to her room. They walk up a winding staircase, then down a long hallway and April opens a door. "Here we are!" She says, as she steps aside so Leo can enter. He walks in and the first thing he sees is a large bed with a hot pink comforter, and a canopy. In front of the bed is a small plasma screen TV, sitting on a shelf. On the far left side of the room is a doll house and next to it a bookcase and small desk. On the other side of the room are a keyboard, and a music stand. "Leo, points to the keyboard and asks, "Do you play?"

"A little. I started taking lessons a few months ago. My piano teacher says I'm good, but I think she's supposed to say that because mommy and daddy pay her a lot." April says.

"I bet you're really good!" Says Leo. "Will you play a song for me?"

"I don't know-

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaassssssseeeeeeeeeeeee." Leo begs. April finally gives in and takes a seat behind the piano. She ponders what to play before smiling. She silently counts off in her head before playing the first deep notes to Lux Aeterna, her favorite song to play.

Leo listens on in awe as she gets closer to melody. The song is beautiful, but at the same sends chills down her spine. She continues to play louder. The, black and white keys under fingers have her undivided attention. She looks as if she's in a whole different world when plays. A world where her music is the most important thing her. She begins to quiet down as she gets closer to the final notes, fading out perfectly. She looks up with bright green, eyes that are dying for a comment but Leo just stands there, chills still going from down spine from what he'd just heard.

"Well…what did you think?" April asked.

"That was good April. Really good! Better than good it was great." Leo applauds after he finds his voice.

"Really? You liked it?"

"Of course I liked it! Who wouldn't like it?"

"Thank you." April says as she begins blushing.

"April, I have a question."

"What is it?' April asked walking over to him.

"Are we like boyfriend and girlfriend?" April cocks her head and ponders for moment, tapping her chin with her index finger thoughtfully. "I don't know, why are we acting like we are?" April asks.

"Well, you're always hugging me, and holding my hand, and giving me kisses on my cheek. You don't do that to any of my brothers. So, doesn't that make us boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"I dunno. I only kiss you on your cheek…boyfriends and girlfriends kiss on…other places. You know…their mouths."

"So are you saying we should…" Leo and April look each other in the eyes.

"I don't know…do you _want _to be boyfriend and girlfriend." April asked.

"I dunno…maybe if we um…you know…kiss, we'll find out. That's how it happens on the shows Master Splinter watch."

"That makes sense." April says with a shrug.

"So we're going to do it?" Leo asked. In response April sat down on the foot of her bed and patted the spot next to her. Leo slowly made his way over to her, and then sat down next her on the soft, plush, mattress."

"Okay, here we go." April says her heart racing.

"Here we go." Leo says. They both turn to each other and squeeze their eyes shut. They pucker their lips and lean into each other. When their lips touch, they open their eyes, widen them then snatch away from each other. They both wrinkle their noses, and makes faces as if they had both just eaten a really sour piece of candy. They look at other and at same time, say, "Ewwwwwww!" They began to wipe their mouths, frantically, and they make gagging sounds. They look at and their lips quiver, before breaking into large grins and soon enough, they're both howling with laughter. They laughed so hard, that they started crying.

Leo stopped but April kept going. But soon her laughs turned into coughs, and then her coughs turned into gags, and then her gags turned into desperate gasp for air as she collapsed to the ground holding her chest.

"April!" Leo cried as bent down next to her. "April, are you okay!" In response, Aprils gasp for breath become shorter and her face turns red as tears begin to fall. "I'll go get Master Splinter!" Leo says as he makes his way to the door.

"Leo..' April manages to choke out.

"What is it?" Leo is instantly by her side again.

"Drawer…desk…top…small box…hurry!" She wheezes. Leo's head whips around the room until he sees her desk. He runs over to it, yanks the drawer open and throws out several, pencils and notepads until he finds a small, white box. He shows it to April who weakly nods and he runs over to her. He opens the box for her and pulls out a funny looking pump. Upon seeing it, April snatches it from him and shoves one end into her mouth and pushes the other end down. She does this twice, pulls it away, takes a deep breath, and then does it again. After she's done a second time, she starts taking very deep breaths. She then puts pump back in the box, and sets it beside her.

"April, what happened? I…I thought you were…I was so..." Leo suddenly starts crying.

"It's okay Leo, I'm fine now." She says pulling him into her shoulder.

"What happened to you though?" Leo says pulling away from her.

"I had an asthma attack." She said simply.

"A what?"

"An asthma attack, it makes it hard to breath sometimes. If I start laughing too hard, and I don't stop, it gets hard to breath and then I have to use my inhaler." April says holding up the small white box. "I push this button and it makes me feel better."

Leo felt angry. He was upset that April hadn't told him about this. They were friends; he was supposed to know everything about her. He didn't want to wait until she was near death to find out a secret he should've known already, but that isn't what was infuriating him. What infuriated him was that it was _his _fault. "I'm sorry." He says to the ground.

"Sorry for what?"

"It was all my fault…if I didn't say anything about that stupid kiss…"

"Leo, it wasn't your fault. It could've happened anytime. Besides, it's not like you knew." April said soothingly. Leo just sighs. He looks out the window, and see's that the storm has stopped. He would probably be leaving soon. He stood up without another word, and glumly left April's room, ignoring the sound of her calling his name. He goes down stairs, looks in the kitchen, and sees a war going on.

Master Splinter chasing after Mikey trying to retrieve the box of cookies, while Don and Raph sit at the island, fighting over who gets the last cookie, that is sitting in between them. Poor Master Splinter. Leo felt he should've known better, then to leave Master Splinter stranded, in a kitchen, with his brothers and one box of cookies.

"Master Splinter! The storm stopped! We can go home now!" Leo says. Master Splinter, breathes a sigh of relief and scurries out the kitchen. "Come, my sons. We are returning to the lair." Raph and Don finally comes up with the genius idea to _split _the cookie and come out the kitchen, pleased with themselves, while Mikey shoves one last hand full into his mouth before setting the box on the counter. April comes down stairs holding the purple notebook and frowns at the mess in the kitchen. Crumbs are all over the floor and countertops.

"My sincerest apologies, child." Master Splinter says catching her gaze.

"It's okay. I'll clean it up. I've done worse." She says with a shrug. She walks with them out into the alley.

"Thank you, for inviting us in!" Don says with a smile.

"And for the cookies!" Mikey says licking his lips and rubbing his stomach.

"Yeah, especially the cookies." Raph adds.

"You're welcome, hear you go Don." April says handing him the purple notebook. He thanks her, and eagerly takes it.

"Until, next time April." Master Splinter says. She tells them all good-bye as they disappear. She gives Leo his special, hug and kiss and on the cheek. As he takes off she calls after him.

"Yeah?" He responds turning around.

"Let's just be friends." She says.

"Just friends." Leo confirms with a smile, before he joins his brothers.

April goes back into her apartment and begins cleaning the kitchen. As soon as she's done her mother walks in. She wearing a cream colored pencil skirt, and a matching blazer. She has the same red hair as April which is pulled into a neat bun, and her eyes are a pale green. "Hello, sweetheart." She says in a strong Irish accent as she kisses April on the forehead.

"Hi mommy." April says.

"Where's Jodie?" Her mother asks.

"She…had to go. But don't worry. I've only been by myself for a little while." April reassures.

"Well, she should've called." April mother says putting her hands on her hips. I swear when I see that girl-

"Okay, April I'm back!" Says Jodie's voice as a 17 year old girl wearing a red tank top, skinny jeans and flip-flops, with blonde hair and blue eyes runs into the room.

"And just where have you been?" April's mother says sharply. Jodie begins to stammer as April's mother impatiently taps her foot on the floor. April panics, knowing that her meetings with the turtles will cease, if she gets a more responsible babysitter.

"So, did you get your textbooks from the classroom, Jodie?'' April asks. Jodie looks at her, shocked at first then figures out what she's doing and plays along. "Yeah, I got them." She says thanking April with her eyes, then turns to April's mother, "Sorry, Carlyn. But I had to run to my school to pick some textbooks I left before they locked me out for good. I would've called but my cell phone, died and the storm, totally messed up the phone at the school." Jodie said. She held out her hand for her payment but April's mother just glared.

"That's _Mrs. O'Neil_ to you and this is coming out of your pay. I won't fire you since this first time I've had trouble with you before, but if it happens again, _you're_ gonna need a new job. Is that understood, Ms. Brookes?"

Jodie nodded and scurried out the door. Giving April one last thankful look before leaving. April's mother began to start cooking dinner and April started up the stairs to go the bathroom and take a bath.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen; Carlyn, is cursing Jodie's name as she slams pots around. Her eyes fall on the box of cookies. She picks up the box and is surprised at how light it is. She looks in and finds that it almost empty. "Huh," She says scratching her head. "I could've _sworn _I just bought these."

**(A/N): Woo! Another chapter up. Hope you guys enjoyed it! Reviews make me happy, so please, leave one. I'll try to update soon. I apologize for any mistakes. Please feel free to them out. **


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N) Hiya! How ya doing lovely readers? Well, hear you go another chapter. It's a little different from the other ones cause it switches settings later on, just to give you a little taste of April's life and how much the turtles mean to her. I hope you still like it. I wanna thank my reviewers, Nightlightbee, I Love Kittens too, Wingnut 2.0 and Livangel16. You guys rock! Now, on with the story!**

"I wanna know more about ninjitsu." April said. Everyone started at her in confusion. She had made the statement one night out of the blue during the one of the regular visits from the turtles and Master Splinter, while she was working on a sketch with Mikey for his future superhero career. After hearing them turn around the corner still arguing over should have won their "sparring match" she had become curious of what it was exactly that they were doing. She also always heard Master Splinter telling them that they would have to return home soon so that they could rest for their "training". She had known the guys several weeks now, and still didn't have an idea of what ninjitsu was and why it was so important to them that trained, especially Leo. She noticed that his brothers would often tease him about how much he trained whenever the subject was bought up. She wanted to know what a "dojo" was, and why Master Splinter always muttered about how he needs "extra meditation". She felt she had the right to know, after all they knew a lot about her. They knew about her piano lessons, her school work, her gymnastics practices, where she was from, and many other things. It only seemed fair that she know about their "ninjitsu". They had never talked to her directly about it, so she never asked. But tonight was different, she simply couldn't take being curious anymore, she couldn't take not knowing. And if there's one things April hates, it's not knowing things.

"Why, do you wanna know about that?" Raph asked.

"Because, you talk about it a lot and you never told me what it is. You know a lot of stuff about me, so why can't I know about ninjitsu?" April said.

"We do tell you about ninjitsu. We tell about how we practice it." Mikey as he added an orange cape to his drawing.

April shook her head. "That still isn't enough. Is it like how mommy tells people we practice Presby...Presbyteri….Presbyterianism! That's the word. Is it like that?"

Master Splinter stifled a laugh and turned his head to hide a smile. "No, April. Ninjitsu is not a _religion_. We don't _worship_ it."

"Try telling that to Leo." Raph said to Don with a nudge; who giggled until receiving a glare from Leo.

"Then what is it?" April asked Master Splinter, eager that she was finally going to learn going to learn more.

"It a form of martial arts, that comes from Japan. I've been teaching it to my sons so that they will be able to defend themselves if the time ever comes when they have to." Master Splinter said back, not missing the eagerness that filled April's eyes.

"Oh, so you guys are like the ninjas on TV?" April asked. The four of them nodded and April grinned from ear to ear. "That's _so _cool! Is that why you guys where knee pads and masks?"

"Yup." Mikey says.

"Wow…will you do some moves for me?" April asked.

"I would but I'm beat. We learned a new kata today and we had to do it bazillion times until we got it right." Don said.

"Me too. My legs still hurt from training." Mikey said rubbing his calf.

April looked to Raph who shook his head. "We all got tired from having to do it so much. Ask Mr. Perfect over here, he did _twice _before getting it right." Raph said motioning to Leo with a grimace.

"Leo," April said hopefully turning his way. "Will _you _show me?"

Leo stared at April's pleading face for a moment, and then looked to Master Splinter for clearance. He looked thoughtful for a minute before finally nodding in agreement. "Ok. Sure." Leo said standing up. April's face lit up in delight. She changed her sitting position so she was sitting cross legged and rests her elbows on either of her knees before propping setting her chin in the palm of her hand. Her, emerald eyes watched Leo incredulously as he took his stance. He stayed that way for a moment before leaping into air and preforming two front-snap kicks before landing in the exact same stance he started off with.

"Show-off." Raph muttered.

"I'm not a show-off; April wanted to see me do it so I did it. Maybe if _you _weren't so tired from having to do it so much you could've done it!"

"Shut up, Leo! You think you're so perfect don't you!"

"I'm not perfect, just better then _you_!"

"That's it!" Raph yelled. He ran over to Leo then tackled him to the ground, and soon enough, the two of them were rolling around on the ground, fist flying and insults shooting back and forth. April screams, as Master Splinter tries to break up the fight. She hears footsteps coming towards the door. She looks at Master Splinter in panic. "Someone's coming!" She whispered sharply. She back towards the door, "You guys need to-

April turned around again and found herself alone in the alley. "Hide…" she finished.

She felt confused that they'd disappeared so easily, but before she could give it anymore thought, Jodie was standing the doorway, wearing a body hugging lavender V-neck t-shirt, skinny jeans, and black flats. She chewing loudly on a piece of gum. A cell phone was in one hand, and a small pizza box in the other. She raised an eyebrow at April before looking around the alley. "Why'd you scream?" She asked.

"I-I saw a mouse." April said simply.

Jodie rolled her eyes. "You're really weird you know that? Why do you sit out here all by yourself?"

"Because my babysitter doesn't do anything to stop me." April shot back.

Jodie looked offended for a moment before shrugging. "Whatever, I'm still getting paid a ton from your parents. As long as you come back in here safe, I could care less what you're doing out here. Here you go." Jodie said handing April the pizza box.

"You're giving me the whole thing?" April asked taking the box.

"Well, your mom said to feed you." Jodie said with a shrug. She went back into house and resumed her conversation on her cell phone. April stood up and closed the door. When she turned back around, the alley was suddenly filled her friends again. She jumped when she saw them and nearly dropped the pizza box. "How-how did you guys do that?" She asked.

"It's a ninja thing. Ooooh, pizza!" Mikey said eyeing the box.

"You want some? I can't eat it all by myself." April said. She set the box on the ground opened it to reveal eight slices of warm, pepperoni pizza.

"Do I!" Mikey said. He was about to grab a slice when Master Splinter hit him on the head with his walking stick. "Michelangelo! Where are your manners? Let, April get the first slice." April reached into her pocket and pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer before passing the bottle around grabbing the first slice. In her head, the fight between Leo and Raph kept playing. While she cared for Raph as much as she did Leo, she couldn't help but feel angry when he pounced in him. She felt like tackling him to the ground herself. She decided to not think of it anymore, because the more she thought of it, the more upset she got. "That was really cool, Leo." She said after she swallowed some of her pizza.

"Thanks, April." He said blushing. "Maybe you could do ninjitsu one day…you know, if Master Splinter wouldn't mind training you."

April shook her head. "I wouldn't be able to. It looks hard. Besides, I don't like hurting other people."

"That is very modest of you April, but it would only have to be used for self-defense. And if you are ever willing to learn ninjitsu, I will be here to teach you." Master Splinter said with a warm smile. "I think it is time we leave, my sons." Master Splinter stood up and he, Don, Mikey and Raph said there good-byes and bade their goodnights before leaving. As always April and Leo were left.

"Are you okay?" April asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be-oh, that. Yeah, I'm fine. Raph and I _always _fight." Leo said. He looked at April's face and realized that didn't make her feel better and quickly corrected himself. "Well not always as in _every day_, always as in, sometimes. We get along sometimes too." He said reassuringly. April's face softened a little and she gave a small smile. She pulled him in for a hug, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow then Leo." April said going inside.

"See, you tomorrow." Leo confirmed.

April already knew it was going to a bad day for her when she woke up to the sound of rain lightly tapping in her window. She rubbed her eyes sleepily and frowned, hoping that it wouldn't last all day and that she would get to see the turtles and Master Splinter. Even though she was used to them and their appearance, it would still be a shock to her that she actually knew them. She had to be the only person on the entire planet who knew they existed. She smiled at that thought. It made her feel special knowing that she had such a big secret. She rolled out of bed and slid her feet into her Spongebob slippers then lazily walked out of her room. She walked down the hall to the bathroom and heard a hair dryer running and pop music blaring from the other side of the door. She groaned and banged on the door. "Robyn! Hurry up!"

"In a minute, April!" Her 16 year old sister called from the other side of the door in her new American accent. She had perfected it shortly after arriving in New York.

April banged on the door again and screamed louder this time, "Robyn! You can dry your hair in your room! Hurry up!"

"I said in a minute you annoying little-

"Mommy! Robyn won't come out of the bathroom!"

That worked like a charm. The door flew open and Robyn stood there staring down at April with angry, honeydew melon colored eyes, still blow-drying her shoulder length auburn hair. Robyn scowled at her little sister as she stormed out of the bathroom. April smiled triumphantly and went inside. She put her hand under the faucet and turned the water on, she hissed and snatched her hand back as ice, cold water stung her hand. Starting the day off with a cold shower. Great. April pushed the thought aside knowing that she'd get to see the turtles and Master Splinter later on, and that was enough to turn any bad day around. So after taking her shower, she stepped out the tub shivering and made her way to her room wrapped in a fuzzy yellow robe. She got dressed in a long-sleeved shirt, jeans and her sneakers.

She dried her hair before brushing it a little and fashioning it in a ponytail. She grabbed her backpack and hurried downstairs where her family was eating breakfast. It was always odd sharing meals with them. Her father's eyes would be glued to his computer screen, Robyn was blasting music through her MP3 player, and her mother was constantly chatting on the phone. Everyone was so…disconnected. April sighed and grabbed a box of Lucky Charms and poured it into a bowl along with some milk. She began eating as her remaining family members sat around ignoring each other. She had just finished eating when her mother got off the phone.

"You ready to go, sweetie?" She said with a smile.

"Yes, mommy." April replied.

"Yes, mommy." Robyn mocked.

"Robyn, don't start." Her mother warned. "C'mon April don't want you being late." Her mother was heading to door when the phone rang. "Hello? Yes this is she. Well I'm kind of busy I have to take my daughter to school and- Well yes husbands here but he- Alright. Yes, I understand." She hung up and groaned. "Liam you need to take April to school, I need to run down to my office."

Her father didn't answer.

"Liam!" She called again.

"Carlyn, I'm busy now, get Robyn to take her." Her father said. His voice was deep and edgy. His accent wasn't as thick as his wife's or April's but and wasn't completely gone like Robyn's. It fell somewhere in between. He didn't really have much in common with any of his family. Instead of having ruby red hair and green like his wife and daughters, he had dark brown hair, and pale blue eyes.

"No way! I don't wanna play chauffer for that little brat." Robyn said with a scowl.

"Liam, April has to leave _now _and so do I. She can't wait on Robyn." April's mother waited on a response before walking over to her father and slamming the laptop closed. "Go. _Now_." She said glaring at him. He stared back before roughly pushing away from the table and snatching his car keys off the counter before storming towards the door.

April slid out of the chair and stuck her tongue out at Robyn who raised a fist causing April to yelp and run to the door. She grabbed her umbrella and her rain coat. She opened the door and sighed. The rain had picked up and large, ugly, puddles were everywhere. She stepped outside before putting up her umbrella and walking to the car. She stopped walking when she got to a large puddle, and she began to jump around in it.

"April, stop your nonsense and get in the car!" He yelled sharply. A few nosy passerby's gave Liam and dirty look and April a sympathetic one before hurrying past. April stepped out the puddle and climbed into the back seat of the car. She fastened herself in and her father began to back out of the driveway. The entire ride was silent unlike other mornings. Any other day April would've been desperately trying to get her father's attention, only to be waved off. But true to her word, she had given up on that. Master Splinter was her new father.

Liam glanced in the review mirror and looked at his youngest daughter in the backseat of the car. He noticed that for the past five weeks, she hadn't been as talkative as usual. In fact she hadn't been talking to him at all. He felt a little worried about that. "You've been quiet." He said as the stopped at a light. "Something wrong?"

April appeared shocked for a moment. He was actually asking her something about life? She scoffed silently in her head. "Nothing to talk about." She said coldly. She didn't mean to but it still felt good that her father was finally feeling guilty for his lack of attention towards her. But it was going to take a lot more than guilt for her to change her mind about him. They pulled in front of her school and April got out of the car without a word. "Now, I won't be able to pick you up because-

"You have too much work to do, I know." April said through the open passenger window.

"So, you may have to call your mother from the phone at school."

"Okay." April said with a shrug. Her father nodded and rolled the window up before driving off with a half-hearted wave.

April ran into the building just as the bell rang. Cold shower. Stormy day. Now I'm late. April thought to herself. But, I get to see _them_ later on. Once again April's face lit up at the thought seeing her new friends later on as she walked down the 5th grade hall and into her class. Her teacher, Ms. Harrison, scolded her for being late before sending her to her seat at the back of the classroom. The remaining classmates snickered as she made her way down the aisle. April ignored it. She had gotten used to it. She _was _after all the youngest on in class, and she should've been in 3rd grade. She took her seat and class began. It was a usual day. She did her warm-up, she turned in her homework, she answered every question correctly when the teacher called on her, causing the other kids to shoot her dirty looks; and her new task, taking notes for Don in the purple notebook. The rest of the day went by slowly. Once school was over she made her way to the main office to call her mother. She about to hang up when the line clicked and her mother finally answered.

"Hello?"

"It's me mommy."

"Oh, hi sweetie, what is it?"

"Daddy said to call you so you could pick me from school."

"Oh…alright…um. I'll be there, but it'll take a while. I'm on the other side of town but I'll get there as soon as I can."

"Okay. Bye mommy."

"By sweetie." The line clicked again and April hung up. She left the office and headed for the main entrance. The rain had stopped but there were still puddles everywhere. April sat down on the steps and pulled out a book on engineering and robotics. It was one of many that she had in her room. She hadn't even opened the book to the first page when it was snatched from her hands.

"Hey!" She said as she looked for the culprit. She found him standing a few feet away from her waving the book around teasingly. Kyle Parkers.

Kyle Parkers was the largest 5th grader in the entire school, but only because he was held back. He blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He always wore oversized tops and ripped baggy jeans. He had been picking on April, ever since her first day of school, because of her back to back A's on her assignments. Standing behind him were three of his "henchmen" who dressed exactly like him.

"Give it back, Kyle!" She yelled getting to her feet.

"Give it back, Kyle!" He mocked. "You want it? Go get it!" He said and he tossed the book down the stairs and it landed on the ground. April ran down the steps and grabbed the book, gently dusting it off. Tears were forming in her eyes.

"You're a jerk, Kyle!" She said, as one tear fell down her face. Kyle and his friends began laughing like a pack of hyenas.

"Aw, the little nerd's gonna start crying!" Kyle said.

April stood up and was about to walk away but his friends blocked her path. They grabbed her arms and forced her to turn around and face Kyle, who snatched the book away from her again. "I don't know why you bother reading these books. It's not like you're smart enough to do any of this stuff!" He sneered.

"At least I'm smart enough to do the work in class!" April shot back. Kyle's face turned red and he tightened his jaw. He threw the book on the ground and grabbed April by the front of her shirt and yanked her towards him. He lifted her arm so she was dangling a few inches above the ground.

"What did you say, _freak_?" He growled.

"You heard me!" April said with a scowl in her face. She kicked him in the shin with one of her dangling legs and he released her. "Why you little…" Kyle mumbled as he rubbed his shin. He stepped over to her and shoved her, then he and friends began to close in her. She backed away until her back hit a fence.

"Stay back!" She yelled just before one of them could reach out and grab her again. "Stay away from me! I'm warning you…I know…I know…"

"You know _what_?" One of the bullies asked.

She said the first thing that popped in her head. "Ninjitsu! I know ninjitsu!"

Kyle and friends exchanged looks before, laughing loudly. "Right, like _you _know how to how to fight!"

"Yes, I do! Watch this!" She said. Kyle and his friends backed up a few feet. April got into the stance she saw Leo use. _How hard can it be? If Leo got it on the second try, I could probably do it too_. She thought. She tried to mimic the move Leo did, but before she could register what happened, she had landed on her side and Kyle and his friends were howling in laughter. She got up and tried again, but this time she only fell faster, and Kyle's friends were now doubling over laughter. April got to her feet and brushed herself off. As soon as she got all the dirt off, Kyle grabbed her arm and tossed her into a nearby puddle. Her hair had fallen from its ponytail and was now loosely hanging in the murky water of the puddle. April stood up again only to be pushed back down, landing face first this time. She gagged as the muddy water entered her mouth. Meanwhile, Kyle and his friends were laughing hysterically. April weakly pushed herself up on her arms and rolled over on her back. She heard a thud next to her and turned to see her book dripping wet and filthy.

"My book!" She cried as she picked it up and desperately tried to clean it with the sleeve of her shirt. Kyle and his friends looked on and watched merrily as tears fell from April's eyes. There was a sound of thunder and rain started again.

"Oops, look like we gotta now. But don't worry; we'll finish this some other time, geek-girl." Kyle said. He walked by and gave her one last shove into the puddle of water before walking away with his friends. April heard a car horn and looked up to see her mother's car. April stood from the puddle and grabbed the ruined book. She walked slowly over to the car, not bothering to ring her hair out, or brush the dust off. She climbed into the car and her mother stared at her wide eyed.

"Oh my God, what happened to you?" Her mother asked handing her a few napkins to clean her face.

"I…fell…in a puddle." April mumbled. "I'm fine." Her mother looked suspicious before turning around and backing out of the school parking lot. The drive home was silent. When they arrived in front of their apartment April went upstairs, flopped onto her bed and began sobbing into her pillow. She kept telling herself that she would see her new friends later on, but even that didn't work as much as she had hoped it would. She heard the doorbell ring and she heard her mother's usual conversation with Jodie before leaving. April rolled out of bed and walked down the stairs and went to her usual spot outside to wait for the guys, and despite what she'd been through. She managed a smile when she saw them turn the corner. She got odd looks from them when they saw her, they looked concerned. Especially Leo.

"April, what has happened to you?" Master Splinter said putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

April started at him for moment. She didn't want to them all about Kyle and the bullies. It would make her seem so weak, and helpless. There should've been something she could have to done prevent what happened but there wasn't. At least this time. But, next time there would be. "I change my mind Master Splinter. I want to learn ninjitsu."

**(A/N): Phew, longer than usual. Anyways I hoped you like this; next chapter is April's very first training session. Woo Hoo! I hope you guys are having as much fun reading this fic as I am writing it. I dunno, why but I really like the character Jodie. I know, this is a Somewhat Leo/April fic, but I just like her and I wanna write more of her in the future. What do you guys think? More Jodie or less Jodie? Don't really care? It's your choice. I write to please you. (I apologize for any mistakes)**


	6. Chapter 6

**(A/N): Another day another chapter! Shout out to my awesome reviewers, Livangel16, Nightlightbee, Wingnut 2.0, IAmTheDragonEmpress, and I Love Kittens too. You guys are my muse! I can't stress enough how much your reviews mean to me! Now, ONWARD TO ZE STORY!**

At, first it was a shock to everyone. April had just come out of nowhere and asked to start taking ninjitsu lessons. While Master Splinter told her he was more than willing to teach her, he wouldn't agree to teach her until she gave him a legit reason. So after a few minutes of being repeatedly asked to give him a reason, April finally told Master Splinter what happened at school. Once she was done, Mikey and Don looked concerned and sympathetic, while Raph fumed with anger, and Leo did both. His fist were clenched, his jaw was tight. He felt a certain anger in him he'd never felt before. It was different from when Raph would pick a fight with him, or when he couldn't perfect his kata, or when he lost a sparring match. This anger was more intense, more bitter, and seemed much more personal. No one was ever supposed to _hurt _April. She wasn't supposed to be upset or anything. That thought had never occurred to him. Mainly because he never wanted it to. He always thought that April's life was perfect. She lived in a big home, she was talented, she was smart, she didn't have to hide from the outside world. He never thought that she actually had problems in her life, like bullies or anything. So when he heard her story he felt like personally tracking this, "Kyle" person down and hurting him. Badly. But do to certain circumstances, he couldn't, and that only made him feel worse.

April, someone who was practically a _sister _to him was getting into trouble, and there was absolutely _nothing _he could do about it, he felt useless and guilty because of that. He was going to have to lead his brothers one day. And leaders protect everyone. What kind of leader would he be if he couldn't keep April safe from some pathetic playground bullies? He returned to the layer that night feeling horrible. He wasn't able to sleep. He kept having nightmares of April being attacked by the bullies. She was calling him for help but he never came.

The only thing that kept Leo optimistic was the thought of April training with them in ninjitsu. Master Splinter agreed of course and April beamed with joy. Even with her face caked with mud, that bright smile of hers still had the same, heartwarming affect. It had been confirmed that Master Splinter would train her on her rooftop two hours a night. Of course they would have to arrive earlier, which was no problem to them seeing as how they all found April such a joy to be around and were always begging to get there earlier anyway.

On the first night of her training, April could barely contain herself. It was Saturday so she spent all day dressed in her Karate Gi and watching every Jackie Chan movie they had and trying to mimic the moves. When she heard a light tapping in her window, she was happy, and embarrassed to see Mikey sitting on the fire escape. She ran over to window, and opened it, greeting him with a smile and quick hug.

"Hi, April. You ready?" He asked.

April nodded happily and took his hand as he helped her out of window and onto the fire escape. Once she was on the roof she ran over to Master Splinter. She balled one of her hands into a fist and rested it in the open palm of her hand and bowed. "I saw it in a ninja movie sensei. I also learned that I'm supposed to call you sensei, now because you're training me." She blurted out.

Master Splinter chuckled at her enthusiasm. "I see you have already learned much, April. But there is plenty more that you must learn. First I must warn you, learning ninjitsu is going to be an arduous task. It will take much dedication, and focus. The challenges you will face mentally, are just as challenging as the ones you will face physically, if not worse. It will take much time, and you will have to be patient if you are to progress. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand sensei." April said.

"Very, well. Let us begin." Master Splinter said.

Leo, Don, Mikey and Raph looked on as Master Splinter started off with katas. They were simple punches and kicks, but April gave each of them her best effort. She executed most them perfectly, and patiently re-did the ones she got wrong. For a beginner, she was doing pretty well. Her body was in good shape because of her gymnastics training; she was very agile and fast and moved very gracefully. Her first training session could've been considered perfect had it not been for her asthma. Despite her determination, April could only do a few katas in a row before she had to stop to take several deep breaths. So Master Splinter decided that she had done enough Katas for the night.

"What do we do now, sensei?" April asked.

"Now, we meditate." Master Splinter said sitting on the ground cross-legged. April cocked her head but copied him without questioning.

"How long do you have to do it?" April asked.

"As long as you are able to keep the distractions of the outside world from breaking your focus." Master Splinter said.

April shrugged. "Okay sounds easy enough." She closed her eyes, and took deep breaths then began humming. Master Splinter looked at her and raised an eyebrow, as he cracked a smile. April never ceased to amuse him. "April?" But she didn't answer. She just continued to meditate and hum.

"April." He repeated.

Again no answer.

"April." He said, barely able to hide the annoyance in his voice.

"Sensei, I'm _trying _to keep to outside world from distracting me." April said after another hum.

"And, you are doing a _very _good job, but I can assure you that the humming is not necessary."

"Oh, that's how they do it in the movies. But okay." She said with a shrug. So resumed her meditation, this time with no humming, and sat there silently.

"She's doing a pretty good job." Don said.

"For a beginner. She doesn't look like she's breathing right. And why does she keep nodding her head?" Leo said.

"Wait a second, I've seen this before." Raph said. He stood up and walked over to where April was meditating. He pushed her gently with one finger, and just as he suspected she tipped over easily and fell on her side, snoring lightly.

Upon hearing the distinct thud, Master Splinter opened his eyes, looked down at April and chuckled.

"I knew it! I knew she would fall asleep! Looks, like you're doing my chores next Donnie!" Mikey said with a triumphant smile on his face.

Don sighed in defeat.

"Should we wake her up?" Leo asked.

"No, let her rest." Master Splinter said. He got to his feet and bent down to scoop April and held her in one arm, so that that her head was resting on his shoulder. He walked over to the fire escape and cautiously climbed down to her window. He opened the window with his free arm, and climbed into her room. He set her down on her bed, and covered her with a blanket he found in her closet. "Rest well, young one." He whispered with a smile. Master Splinter had never had a daughter before, but he figured that if he did, it would be a lot like this. He climbed out of the window and closed the door behind him. His sons were waiting behind him on the fire escape. He proceeded to climb down the rest of the way followed by Raph, Don, and Mikey. Leo, who was at the end, paused when he reached April's window. He peered through the window and smiled.

She looked so peaceful when she sleeps. He was enjoying watching April in such a serene state when a thought suddenly occurred to him. _If she's asleep, what about my special good-bye hug and kiss?_ He frowned at the thought and without thinking; he carefully opened the window and stepped into her room. Leaving the window open for a quick getaway if he needed one, he crept over to her bed and planted a light kiss on her forehead, she smiled in her sleep. Leo tucked the covers under her chin, then he left just as quietly and quickly as he had entered. "Good-night, April." He whispered as he climbed out the window. He had just closed the window when he heard Raph call, "Leo, what are you doing up there! Hurry up!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Leo said. He took one last glance at April before hurrying down the fire escape.

Over the next few weeks April O'Neil had once again added another strange tradition to her lifestyle. She would greet the turtles and Master Splinter in the alley before they would head up to the rooftop and she would train for two hours. She was a very fast learner and just as Master Splinter said she should, she put everything she had into her training. Even after her friends left, April would continue to practice everything she'd learned until her body was sore and her muscles screamed every time she moved. It was at that point when she would meditate (without falling asleep) until her parents arrived. Ninjitsu training had helped her with her gymnastics, just as gymnastics had helped her with her ninjitsu. She didn't have to stop to catch her breath as often because Master Splinter had taught her several breathing techniques to keep her asthma under control.

Even though Leo, Mikey, Don and Raph had been training much longer then she had and were still much more skilled then she was; she finally became familiar enough with ninjitsu to spar with them.

Mikey and Don went first. After Leo repeatedly told them to be careful with her and not to hurt her too much, they finally sparred with her, and as she suspected she would, she lost. Next up was Raph, who at first refused to fight a girl. But after being called a chicken by Mikey, he finally gave in. And even though she put a good fight, and was able to dodge most of Raph's attacks because of her speed, a few minutes later, April was flat on her back with a look of pain on her face. At the sight of that Leo panicked. "April, are you okay?" He asked rushing over to help her up.

"I'm fine Leo." She said with a reassuring smile as he pulled her to her feet.

"Excellent work April. You are very agile and fast, and you are very good at dodging. But you must be able to attack as well as you are able to evade. Do you wish to continue?" Master Splinter said.

"Yes, sensei." April said.

"Very well. Your next and final opponent is Leonardo." Master Splinter said.

April walked to the other side of the roof and took a fighting stance. Leo did too, although he looked rather indisposed while doing so. "You sure you wanna do this April."

"Of course I am. I want to get better at ninjitsu and this is how I'm going to do it."

"I know…I just don't wanna hurt you." Leo said.

"Well Mikey, Don and Raph fought me. Why won't you?" April asked cocking her head.

"Like I said, I don't wanna hurt you."

"Please Leo? Even if you do hurt me, it's not like I'll be mad or anything."

Leo sighed. "Alright, fine."

April smiled and they both waited for Master Splinter's order to start the match. When he did, Leo charged at April and before he could strike she'd done a back flip and landed behind him in a matter of seconds.

"You really are fast and agile." Leo said. April thanked him by charging again and making several attacks that Leo could barely block. She tried to punch but before her fist could connect Leo had grabbed her wrist and flipped her over. She hit the ground with a loud thud and a small moan.

Master Splinter announced that the sparring match was over. April got to her feet and gave a worried Leo a small smile showing him she was fine.

"Good job, April. You're not upset are you?" Leo said cautiously.

"Why would I be mad? It's my very first time sparring and I haven't been practicing as much as you. It's not like I was _expecting _to have a chance at winning." April said with a shrug.

"Do not talk like that April. You had a fighting chance, and you did _very _well for a beginner." Master Splinter said. "Your training is over for today."

So with that said, they all started down the fire escape. April gave Leo his usual good-bye before climbing into her window. The second she got inside, she began to practice every kata she had learned since she started training.

She executed each one with fury. Deep down, she was enraged at how sparring had went. Each of them took her down without even trying. She _did _expect to have a winning chance. She _was _expecting to win one match, or at least come close to doing so. But instead she ended up losing them all. She practiced until her muscles were sore, and then continued to practice ignoring the pain in her body. She finally stopped when her legs fell like Jell-O and she could barely stand. She hobbled into the bathroom and ran the water as hot it would go, before pouring in almost an entire bottle of bubble bath. As the water was running she stripped her clothes off and eased down into the tub with a relieved sigh. _I'll be as good as them one day…_ She thought to herself.

Once she was done, she stepped out of the tub and went into her room to get dressed for bed. She was pulling on her shirt when her door swung open to reveal Jodie standing in the doorway.

"Jodie! Don't you knock?" April said as she slid her arm into the other sleeve.

"Ugh, whatever. Look some _guy _is here to say you, says it's important." Jodie said.

"Who is he?"

"I dunno."

"What does he want?"

"I dunno."

"How, does he know me?"

"I dunno."

"So you let him in and _left _him downstairs _alone_? What if he's a thief?"

"I told you he looked important. He was wearing a suit and stuff. And he's kinda hot." Jodie said a smile as she twisted her hair around her finger.

"What's so important about a suit?" April yelled.

"Well…he had a badge too…that's important right?"

"You have to be the _worst _babysitter on the face of the planet!"

"No I'm not! You're still alive aren't you?"

April rolled her eyes and slapped herself in the face then stormed past Jodie. She walked over to the staircase and peaked down to see a man standing in the living room. When he saw her, he smiled warmly, or at least tried to. Instead he just ended up looking creepy.

"Are you April?" He asked making his way towards the staircase.

April didn't respond.

"Yeah, she's April." Jodie said. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Wait…you're not like…a _pedophile _are you?"

"No, Ms. Brooks; I can assure you, I am _not I_ a pedophile." The man replied as he ascended the stairs.

Jodie looked thoughtful for a moment. "I dunno…that sounds like something a pedophile would say, but okay. I'm going to go the bathroom now, you better not rape her cuz' if you do I am like _so _fired." She turned towards the bathroom just as her phone rang. "Hello? You're where? _Again_? For what? I _told _you they'd catch you if you hid it there!" That was the last thing April heard as Jodie disappeared into the bathroom. Leaving April and the strange man all alone.

He had on a white shirt, and black tie, a long black jacket, black pants, black shoes, and black glasses that were impossible to see through. She found the man intimidating and scooted away from him until she hit the wall.

"Look, April I _promise _I'm not going to hurt you." The man said soothingly.

"Who are you and what do you want?" April asked in a small voice.

"Oh forgive me; I am being quite rude aren't I? Please, allow me to introduce myself." The man cleared his throat then said, "My name is Agent John Bishop, and, I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding some…_friends_ of yours.

**(A/N):Yay! Another chapter done! Hope you guys liked the ending. ;-). Now, I have an announcement to make. I'm think I'm going to be wrapping this fic up pretty soon. A few more chapters and it's done. BUUUUT! I'm thinking of making a sequel, I had already one written but I hated it so I'm gonna scrap and start fresh. It'll take place 15 years later from this one. So they're all grown up and they've known each other since they were kids. I've already got a few ideas for it. How does that sound? Give me your honest opinion about it in a review or PM. Thanks for reading another chapter and I'll try to update soon. Coming up next, April is determined to get revenge on Kyle, Bishop is desperate to get information, the turtles learn more about the dangers of the surface and Jodie…well….she's Jodie. Until next time!**


	7. Chapter 7

**(A/N): Howdy! And welcome to another installment of Leo's Special Friend! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I hope you have fun reading it. SHOUT OUT TIME! Thanks a bunch to my oh so lovely reviewers, LunarStar98 (yours made me laugh), Nightlightbee, Livangel16, and Wingnut 2.0! You guys ROCK! **

Agent Bishop looked at April who hadn't said anything. She still had a terrified look on her face. Millions of thoughts were rushing through her head. "_Who is this man? How does he know who I am? How does he know where I live? What does he mean by friends? Is he talking about the turtles and Master Splinter? How would he know about them? I never told _anyone_! What would he want with them? _All of these questions were rushing through April's head but she didn't have an answer for any of them. But what she did confirm was that if this man wanted to get to her friends, she wasn't going to let him. _No one _was going to harm them. They were her friends. Her _family_. "What do you mean by friends?" She asked.

"April, are you keeping any…_secrets_ from your parents?" Agent Bishop said.

April felt a lump in her throat. So he _does _know. She was about to blurt out, "What do you want with them!" But instead decided that she would do what had to and lie. She hated it, but it's not like she had any other choice. Besides, it's not like she hadn't been doing for the past month. "No, I don't have any friends at all. And I tell mommy and daddy everything." She said in the most innocent voice she could manage.

Agent Bishop grimaced slightly. "Haven't your parents ever told it's not nice to lie to people? Especially people who work for the government." Agent Bishop pulled a shiny, gold badge that read E.P.F.

"Didn't _your _parents ever tell not to go to someone's house without being invited and start asking scared little girls you don't know lots of questions?" April countered. She was pleased with herself. She was doing a pretty good job at keeping her mouth shut. She was barely able to contain her smirk at the sight of Agent Bishops face turning red in frustration.

The black and white clad agent swallowed hard before continuing in a shaky voice. "Look, sweetheart. I am a _very _important man who has to do a _very _important job, and in order to do that job, I need to get vital information from _you_."

"Sir, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have any secret friends. You have to go and see someone else about the information you want."

Agent Bishop clenched his fist tightly so that his knuckles turned white. No way was he going to let an _8-year-old _stand between him and what had to be the most important genetic mutation experiment he has ever conducted. It was taking everything he had not to strangle her right there. And if she wasn't the only lead he had to finding the mutants he desired, he probably would. He could see right through her little act. He could see that behind the trembling little girl in front of him, there was a haughty, clever, satisfied child who knew exactly what she was doing. He would've been impressed by the behavior had it not been directed at him.

"You, need to leave now, sir. My mommy's going to be home soon and I doubt that she'll want you here." April said.

Agent Bishop cursed under his breath. He had almost forgotten about her parents, the last thing he needed was to blow his cover. So he stood up and started down the stairs with a scowl on his face. Behind him, April was smiling feeling relieved and triumphant. She wasn't able stop the next words from coming out of her mouth. "I hope you the person who has the information you want, sir."

Agent Bishop stopped at the second to last step. _She's _teasing _me about it. Damn, smug little_ _brat is teasing me about it._ He thought to himself. He turned around and said, "Thank you April. When I _do _find the person, they will be _very _sorry they ever kept this information from me." Agent Bishop stepped off the final step on the staircase before storming out of the slamming it behind him. Once he was outside he made his way over to a black SUV that was parked across the street from April's apartment. He climbed into the passenger where a middle aged blonde man wearing a black jumpsuit and a headset was waiting for him on the driver side.

"How'd it go?" He asked quietly eyeing the house.

"She played dumb." Agent Bishop growled.

The man in the driver's seat raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Told, you this would happen Bishop. She's a _kid_, they _invented _the art of playing dumb. How do you think she got away with keeping this from her parents?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. She can play _dumb _all she wants. But I will get the information I want from her one way or another."

The man in the driver's seat gapped. "What do you mean _one way or another_? She's _eight _Bishop. You can't seriously be thinking about interrogation."

"You know my motto, "The bigger they are the harder they fall…and the younger they are…the easier _they break_. Now drive."

"Bishop, c'mon she's just a little girl, is this experiment _that _important to you?"

Bishop turned to the driver who was looking at him with a look of pure shock on his face. He glared at him through his dark glasses and said in a very cold voice. "I said. _Drive_."

The blonde man, started at Bishop for a moment before starting the car and driving away, casting a sympathetic look in the rearview mirror at the home of the little girl, who had no idea what was in store for her.

The second the Agent Bishop man was gone, April ran to her room and grabbed a sheet of paper, and a pencil. Although, she wouldn't show it, Agent Bishop had terrified her. His last words to her were replaying in her mind like a broken record. "_When I do find the person, they will be very sorry they ever kept this information from me." _

_How does he know about them? _She thought as she sat down at her desk and turned a lamp on. "It doesn't matter." She said out loud to herself. "If someone's after them, I _have _to warn them." She thought for a moment before scribbling words onto the paper. Once she was done, it read:

_A man came by who says he knows about you! I promise I didn't tell anyone. He may be watching the house so don't come by tomorrow night__._

_April _

April re-read the note and felt a chill run down her spine she when read the part about, someone watching her house. She grabbed the note, put it in an envelope with her name on the front then ran downstairs. Once she was downstairs, she grabbed a small flashlight from the kitchen then, then she ran out the back door and into the alley, she made the turn around the dark alley where she always saw the turtles and Master Splinter go whenever they left. She turned on the small flashlight and looked around the alley until she saw the manhole. It was the one Master Splinter had told her was the way get to and from her house when she asked where they lived. She set the flashlight in her mouth and moved the cover about an inch, leaving a small opening. She gagged as the smell of the sewers wafted from the hole. She took the note and put it between the empty space, before sliding the manhole cover so it kept the note from falling into the sewer water below and hid it from anyone who happened to pass by.

"Please, please, please, work." April said as she stood up. She looked around making sure no one had seen her, and then ran back the way she came. She flew through the door, and then ran up to her bedroom just as her mother pulled in the driveway. She crawled under the covers when she heard the car door slam. There were a few minutes of silence as she heard her mother greet Jodie. Thankfully, Jodie being the irresponsible person she was didn't mention Agent Bishop dropping by. That would've raised too many questions.

April heard her mother coming up the stairs and pretended to be asleep. Her door opened and she heard footsteps come over to her bed and felt her mother kiss her on her forehead before leaving and closing the door behind her. Once she was gone April opened her eyes and exhaled tiredly.

She was tired from her sparring, she was tired from her extra training, she was tired from her encounter with Agent Bishop, she was tired from all of the unanswered questions swimming in her head, she was tired from her sprint to and from the manhole cover. Overall, she was _exhausted_. But despite that, even though she was wrapped in a warm bedspread, as she was lying on her soft mattress, she wasn't able to sleep at all.

Agent Bishop had really intimidated her. She knew that if he ever did by chance find the turtles and Master Splinter, that she would be useless to them. Agent Bishop was a grown man, and she was just a little girl. How could she protect the ones she loved, from something she was too scared to face? From something she had absolutely _no _chance against? She would loose them. And they would loose each other. Both thoughts were unbearable. Both thoughts terrified her. Both thoughts would destroy her, and her newfound family. Both thoughts were also very possible. And if either of them occurred, there would be no one to blame but herself.

The next morning, April rolled out of bed after a long, restless night. It was strange, when she slept; it seemed as if she was waking up after going to sleep an hour ago, even though many more had passed. But when she was awake, the eight hours that usually seem to fly buy when she was unconscious, seemed to go by in slow motion; each hour more long-standing than the last.

She rolled out of bed not feeling like herself. She sat on her bed and waited for her sister Robyn, to come out of the bathroom. After a record setting 25 minutes, she emerged the bathroom and appeared in April's doorway with her short hair in a French braid, and her face covered in make-up. She frowned at April and walked over to her bed at sat down next to her.

"Hey, where were you this morning, you little twerp? It's not like you to refrain from bugging me while I'm in the bathroom." Robyn said playfully.

"Didn't feel like it." April said with a shrug, in a somber voice. A single tear fell from her eye.

Robyn gapped and frowned again. She put an arm around April who to the surprise of them both, buried her head in Robyn's shoulder and began to cry. April's mother walked by and at first nearly had a heart attack at the sight of her two daughters, her war-torn daughters in embrace. Robyn looked up at her and mouthed the words, "I don't know." Answering the question her mom didn't need to ask. Her mother stepped into the room, but Robyn waved her off. Her mother looked reluctant at first but did as she was told and left the room, closing the door behind her. Robyn pulled her little sister away from her shoulder, gently, forced her head to turn she their eyes met.

"What's wrong, April?" Robyn asked in a soothing voice that April had never heard from her sister.

"Robyn…when someone threatens the people you love, you stand up for them no matter what right? You shouldn't be scared or anything?"

Robyn looked thought looked for moment before finally responding. "Well, that depends on how much you care about those people."

"I care about them a lot, Robyn! But…what if I…what if I….

"What if you what?" Robyn asked.

"What if I can't? What if I'm too scared and I'm not strong enough to protect them on my own?"

"April, it's okay to be scared; everyone's scared of something. But, when you want to protect someone you care about, someone you _love_, those feelings will overcome _any _fear you have. And once that happens, you'll be _unstoppable_."

"Really?" April said with a small smile.

"Really." Robyn responded ruffling her hair. She wiped the last few tears from April's face with her finger.

"Thank you, Robyn." April said hugging her sister tightly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now get off you little brat, someone might see me." Robyn said jokingly. She stood up and walked to April's door. She put her hand on the door knob, and before walking out she turned back and said, "Remember April, _unstoppable_." She winked and left April's room, then went downstairs to eat breakfast.

After her talk with her sister, April felt a lot better. She went into the bathroom and showered before returning to her room to get dressed in a Minnie Mouse t-shirt, shorts and sneakers. She headed downstairs for breakfast and began eating. Robyn was back to her usual self. Muffled music was blaring from the headphones covering her ears, although occasionally she would look up and share a smile with April, causing her even her father to shoot them strange looks.

Once they were done April's mother dropped her off at school. That day seemed to go by faster than the others. Nothing could get her down after Robyn's pep talk. She was _unstoppable_. Just the thought of it, made her smile.

Once school was over she sat down on her usual spot on the steps and waited for her mother to come. She was in the middle reading a book on astronomy that she had checked out for Don, when she heard a yelp followed by the sound of snickering. She looked up and felt her blood boil when she saw, Kyle and his friends laughing at a boy, who they'd just dropped in a trashcan. She shoved her book into her backpack and marched over to them, huffing all the way. She may not have known the boy at all and had no feelings for him at all other than pity. But she did have feelings for Kyle and his friends. Hatred, disgust, disapproval. And those feelings were stronger than any fears she had of them. _I'm unstoppable. _She thought to herself.

She stood in between Kyle and the boy, who angrily tossed a banana peel of his head and stared at the petite girl in front of him.

"Knock it off you big bully!" April yelled.

"Hey, look its geek girl! Didn't get enough of us the _last _time we met?" Kyle sneered.

"Yes, I did. _Everyone's _had enough of you Kyle! You're just a big stupid, boy who picks on people because you're no better than them! It's not _our _fault you're supposed to be in 6th grade right now! So stop taking it out on us and quit being such a _jerk_!" April yelled. When she was done, she was furious. Her face was red; her fists were clenched and her jaw was tight. She was staring at a shocked and equally angry Kyle.

"Who do you think you are? You can't talk to me like that!" Kyle yelled.

"I. Just. _Did_." April shot back.

"That's it, dork!" Kyle yelled. He lunged at April and before he could reach her, she did a front-snap kick and hit him in his jaw. He stumbled backwards, shocked and in pain. He regained his composure and charged again, but April dodged, and when he turned around, he was met with a punch to the gut, before April did a leg-sweep and took his feet from under him. He scooted away from her and retreated to his friends.

"Told you I know ninjitsu." April said.

Kyle and his friends retreated, leaving April and the boy alone. Kyle was sure to look back and give April a dirty look before running out of the gate.

April turned to see the boy and helped him up. He had light tan skin, short dark hair, and blue eyes. He was wearing a black t-shirt and had on jeans and black sneakers.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Thanks to you. Where'd you learn that?"

"Karate classes." April lied.

"Cool, I've always wanted to take karate. What's your name?"

"I'm April O'Neil. And I know, I talk funny, I'm from Ireland." April said sticking out her hand.

The boy laughed and shook her hand. "I don't think you talk funny. I like the way you talk. I'm not from around here either. I'm new. My name is C-

The boy was interrupted by the sound of a horn. "ARNOLD! COME ON WE HAVE TO GO! HURRY UP!" A woman yelled from a station wagon in the parking lot.

"Arnold?" April said stifling a laugh.

"Yeah, but you can call me-

"ARNOLD! STOP CHIT-CHATTING AND C'MON!"

"ALRIGHT, MOM I'M COMING!" The boy yelled back. He gave April a quick smile before running to his mother's car.

April, smiled as she watched the boy leave, before walking back over the steps and picking up where she left off in the book in the she was reading. Seconds after she sat down, she heard a car door slam. She looked up expecting to see her mother's car but instead, saw a black SUV. A man stepped out and her heart skipped a beat. _Agent Bishop_.

April frantically scrambled to feet as more men poured out the SUV and began to run towards her. She tried to open the doors to the school but they were locked. She looked across the school yard, and there were two men who were halfway across. She pulled on the door desperately but it wouldn't open. Calling for help was useless because the hallway was empty.

The men were now coming up steps. She reached into her backpack and pulled out a textbook. She used all her strength to hurl it at one of the two men. The book connected with his nose and he toppled backwards, hitting head on the concrete steps with a moan, before falling silent and not moving.

_Did I just kill someone?! I just killed someone!?_ April thought frantically. But before she could panic, another man charged at her and she leaped over the stair railing, landing in the bushes. She got to her feet and quickly ran away, not looking back at the man chasing her. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She ran around to the back of the school since the gate was blocked by the men from the SUV. Once she was at the back of the school she saw a gate open. Nearby and unguarded. Perfect. She sprinted towards it and smiled as she neared it. She was about to run out but just as she got close to it, she came to an abrupt stop. Blocking the gate was Agent Bishop. Her blood ran cold and she turned around to run away, but instead found three other men blocking her path of escape. She turned around and Agent Bishop was stepping closer.

"Stay away from me! I already told you I don't the information you want!" April said as she stepped backwards.

Agent Bishop chuckled. "Now April…we both know that's not true."

April took a few more steps back before being lifted into the air by strong arms and she struggled and cried for help. _It's happening…everything I was afraid of is happening…_She thought to herself. A cloth covered her mouth, cutting off her cry for help. Her legs began to kick slower and she began to feel sleepy. _Maybe I'm not so unstoppable after all_. She thought, as she drifted into unconsciousness.

Master Splinter and his sons made their way through the sewers to the manhole cover.

"I can't _wait _to train with April today!" Mikey said. All of them were carrying their training weapons. Today, Master Splinter was going to give April her very first weapons lesson. Leo had an extra bokken with him. He was just as excited as Mikey was. Master Splinter had told them April's weapon would be the Chokuto. He thought that the blade would fit her agility and speed. He hadn't told her this yet. He wanted it to be a surprise for her.

As they neared the manhole cover, Master Splinter stopped when saw a white envelope sticking out from the side of the manhole cover. He was about to ignore it but, he caught a glimpse of April's name and gently took it down careful not to rip it. He took it down and read it over. Once he was done he just stood there. Paralyzed in fear and shock.

"What is it Master Splinter?" Don asked staring up at him.

"We must return to the lair, _now_." Master Splinter said.

"But Master Splinter-

"Do not question me, Raphael. I will explain later! Now go!"

Deciding not to argue, all four of his sons turned around and headed back to the lair, followed by a very worried Master Splinter. As he trudged behind them, he silently thanked April for her warning; but was still extremely confused. He had no doubt that April was telling the truth and that she hadn't told anyone. But a question still remained. _Who had found out their secret?_

As they entered the lair, everyone wandered to their rooms. Master Splinter headed to the dojo so he could have some time to think. Mikey flopped on the couch and turned on the TV. The moment he turned it on, the program was interrupted by a sudden news flash. He froze when he saw it. A child had been reported missing. And not just _any _child. April O'Neil, his friend, his _sister_, had vanished without a trace.

**(A/N): Another chapter done! Now, before you guys flame me and call me heartless and sadistic. I promise you I am not heartless and sadistic. Don't believe me? Well read the next chapter when I update this! But for now, review, tell me what you think of this chapter! Reviews make me happy and inspire me to write more! So please, click the little button below and leave one. Go ahead, click it, it won't bite. ;-) (I apologize for any mistakes)**


	8. Chapter 8

**(A/N): Once again I have uploaded another chapter! Woo hoo! As always, time to give thanks to my reviwers: Wingnut 2.0, Livangel16, IAmTheDragonEmpress, I Love Kittens Too, and Nightlightbee. If it wasn't for you guys, I this chapter wouldn't exist. ;-) Love you guys! XOXOXOXOX**

When April woke up she didn't recognize the room she was in. She didn't even remember how she got there. She was sitting at a desk with a metal table that separated two metal chairs from each other. She lifted her head, looked around and groaned. _Where was she?_ As she was trying to make sense of her surroundings a blonde man walked in. He was wearing a black jumpsuit and a headset. April had never seen the man before, but he looked way nicer than Agent Bishop. _Agent Bishop_. That's how she got there. She was about to start panicking when the blonde man spoke. "Oh, you woke up. I'll have to go and let Bishop know.

"Wait, where am I? What am I doing here?" April asked.

"You're at E.P.F headquarters. You were bought here because Bishop wanted to…"question" you."

"He _still _thinks I know what he wants?"

"He _knows _that you know what he wants."

"Indeed he does." Agent Bishop said appearing in the doorway. April glared at him as he came into the room and sat down across from her. "This could've all been avoided you know. If you had just told me what I wanted to know, you could've been at home right now." Agent Bishop paused to sigh dramatically. "But unfortunately, that's not how things turned out."

"You aren't gonna get away with this! Someone will find me!"

"Oh, I doubt that. This location is very secretive. _No one _knows where you are, and if you don't tell me what I want to know, no one ever will."

"I already told you that I-

"What? That you don't know what I'm talking about? Well you and I both know _damn _well that's not true. I've _seen _you interact with the creatures."

"Well, if you know so much about these _creatures _then what am _I _here for?"

"Because, you've observed them more closely than I have, and you may have vital information I need to conduct my experiments. And I will have you know that executing my experiments perfectly is my top priority around here, and when it comes to my experiments _nothing _gets in my way, especially not a stubborn child such as yourself. Now you have two choices here, you can either A) tell me what I want to know and be returned home in one piece, or B) be stubborn and regret _ever _lying to me."

April thought about this for moment. As much as she wanted to return home, as much as she wanted to leave this place and get as far from Bishop as possible, her sister's words returned to her head._ But, when you want to protect someone you care about, someone you love, those feelings will overcome any fear you have. And once that happens, you'll be unstoppable." _ And she loved the turtles and Master Splinter much more then she feared Bishop, or anything for that matter. She knew that at this point, there was no need to try and convince Bishop that she was telling the truth. Agent Bishop wanted to hear the truth, so that's what she would give him. And were the next words that came out of her mouth were, anything but a lie. "I'm not telling you _anything_." She growled.

Agent Bishop scowled. "So _that's _how it's going to be, huh? You do not want to go down this road."

"You don't scare me, Bishop! I made a promise, and O'Neil's don't break promises." April said.

Agent Bishop chuckled. "How cute. You made a promise. Well, I made a promise too. I made a promise to myself that I would get the information I wanted out of you one way or another."

Before April could even see his hand, he sent it flying across the side of her face. She gasped as the pain burned her cheek. She bit her tongue to hold back a scream pain. She took a deep breath, and sat back up as if she'd never been hit. She looked at Agent Bishop in what she thought was her bravest looking face. He sat across from her, shocked that she wasn't fazed. She didn't shed a single tear, not even a cry of a pain.

The blonde man stood there equally shocked at what just happened. All the sympathy he felt for the girl, that night he drove away from her apartment had returned. He never thought Bishop would stoop so low to actually interrogate, an 8-year-old girl. He watched as Bishop raised his hand again and just as it was coming down, a man dressed in the same jumpsuit he wore poked his head through the door. "Sir, there's a call for you." He said.

"Tell them I'm busy." Agent Bishop snarled at the man.

"But, sir it's the President."

Agent Bishop's mood went from anger, to urgent in seconds. He stepped out the room to answer his call. Once he was gone, the blonde man spoke. "You should tell him what he wants to know. You're eight; you don't have what it takes to make it through one of _his _interrogations. Surely, whatever you're protecting isn't worth it."

"Why do you care?" April asked.

"Because, I've seen what Bishop can do to people when he wants to make them suffer. If a grown man can't survive it, neither can you."

"I'm not afraid of him."

"Well you should be."

"But I'm not. If you don't like the way treats people, then why do you work for him?"

"I didn't know I signed up for this. I just thought we were just going some simple experiments, I never knew how bad Bishop was until his first interrogation. Poor man was begging to be killed. I don't wanna see that happen to a kid."

"Why won't you quit?"

"Well, when you decide to work for Bishop, it's sort of hard to get away from him. When someone quits he makes sure they _never _get another job."

"So you're scared?"

The blonde man didn't answer so April continued. "Someone once told me that when you feel strong enough about something, it can overcome fear. I care about my friends more then I'm scared of Bishop, so I'm not very afraid of him."

The blonde man gapped at April's words. Here he was, a grown man getting lectured by an eight year old girl his boss kidnapped. Deep down, he _hated _Bishop. Thought he was insane and sadistic. And the girl was right he _was _afraid. He was about to respond and deny it though, when Bishop re-entered the room, obviously upset from his talk with the president.

"Sir," The blonde man said. Agent Bishop looked his way. "What?" He asked coldly.

"Sir, I have other duties I must attend to if you have everything under control here."

"I'm fine. You're dismissed."

"Thank you, sir." He turned toward the door and looked back at April with a sympathetic look on his face before leaving the room. He made his way to the parking deck where his SUV was. He climbed into the drivers side, started the engine, and found himself travelling that familiar path, back to April's residence. He already had a plan in mind. He was done with Agent Bishop. He would tell April's family where she was, and give cops the location. Sure, the E.P.F would hate him for it but, they needed to be stopped. Whether she was telling the truth or not, no little girl should have to endure that. As he sped down the road and back the city, he could only hope that by the time he returned to her with help, that he wouldn't be too late.

Master Splinter was torn. When Mikey told him about what he saw on TV, the feeling of terror he had when he read April's note had tripled and he could barely hold himself together. Master Splinter was wise and it didn't take him long the put the puzzle pieces together. Some was watching April's home and found out about them, that someone questioned her and she wouldn't give him answers, and now that someone had kidnapped her, in hope that she would. He looked at his sons terrified faces as he pondered what to do.

"Master Splinter do you think she's-

"No, we must not think that way. I cannot make any assumptions as of that at that moment." Master Splinter replied.

"Well what are we gonna do?" Don asked. He was the only one of all of his brothers who was able to speak. Mikey was too terrified and distraught, Raph was too busy fuming with anger and Leo…oh poor Leo. He was obviously shaken, From the way he was behaving Din didn't know whether he was going to burst out I tears, scream in rage, or have a mental breakdown at the thought of April being hurt…or worse.

"I will travel to the surface to see what more information I can find, the four of you stay here and _do not _leave the lair."

"But we _have _to go! She's family!" Raph exclaimed, shocking everyone. He never shared his feelings with anyone. Especially feelings about other people.

"Raphael, it is too dangerous. I will be able to return faster if I go alone." Master Splinter said. "I need you to stay here, so that I will know rather or not you find out anything about the search on the television. Is that understood?"

His sons exchanged reluctant looks before nodding in agreement.

"Good, I am glad you understand. I will return shortly." Master Splinter said. He took of through the sewers leaving his sons alone. He made his way to the manhole cover and pushed it aside. He carefully leapt from out of the hole and made his way to April's apartment. He saw the red and blue lights of a Police siren in the drive way and placed his ear to the back door. He was barely able to hear the conversation.

"So, you say a man came by here, Ms. Brookes? A random, stranger and you just let him in?" Someone asked. Master Splinter just assumed he was a cop.

"Yeah, he just came by and said that it was really important he speak with her." Jodie said. She actually sounded very concerned. Maybe even scared.

A new voice spoke this time. It sounded like it belonged to another teenager. Her voice was shaky and full of rage. "You did what?! You stupid _bitch_! Why would you allow a complete _stranger _to speak with her?! I _swear _if _anything's _happened to _my _baby sister I will kick. Your. Ass."

"Look, Miss, I know you're upset but right now we need to get all the information we can." Said the cop. "Now what did this man look like, Ms. Brookes?"

"Well he had a badge…"

"A badge? What did it say?" The cop asked.

"Um….it said…..come on, come one what did it say? Oh, I know now! E.P.F that's what it said."

"The E.P.F? I thought that was just a myth?" The cop said.

"Excuse me," Said another voice. It belonged to a woman and she had the same thick Irish accent as April did. Master Splinter could tell she'd been crying and his heart sunk as he heard her speak. The poor woman, having to have to go through this. No parent should have to face such horrible problems. "What is the E.P.F? And what would they want with April?"

"Well ma'am the E.P.F is a secret organization that was founded in the 1800's after a man claimed he was abducted by aliens. They research, abnormal life forms they think are on earth. Aliens, mutations, humanoids. Anything they find worth their while they obsess with finding it."

Well _that _certainly cleared things up. That _had _to be who took April. Master Splinter felt horrible. An innocent little girl was somewhere being put through God, knows what and it's all because she was trying to protect _his_ family. She had been nothing but kind to them and _this _is what she gets in return.

"I don't care who the E.P.F is! My little girl is out there somewhere and anything could be happening now! And you want to sit around and play 20 questions! Go out there, and find my daughter!" Yelled a man's voice. It was deep, and very bitter. His accent wasn't as strong as April's from what Master Splinter could tell.

"He's right. We need to go find out more about the E.P.F." Said a cop.

"_Please_, just bring my sister back." Said the teenage girl again. This time, her voice was pleading and desperate.

Master Splinter was about to leave, after hearing the news when he saw something move on the other side of the street. A tall, middle aged, blonde man stepped out of a SUV and he was wearing an E.P.F badge. Upon seeing this Master Splinter grew furious. He knocked over a trashcan and drew the man's attention. The man looked over at the alley and began to step closer. "Hello? Anyone there?" He whispered. Master Splinter knocked over another trashcan and the man came closer.

"Hello? Who's there?" The man asked. He took a few more steps into alley, and the second he was close enough, Master Splinter attacked. Using his tail he hit the man in the face, before kicking his kneecap, causing his legs to buckle. Before he could hit the ground, Master Splinter grabbed him and covered his mouth as he dragged him further into the alley. Once they were concealed from view, Master Splinter shoved the man against a wall. His forearm was pressed against the man's throat.

"W-w-who? W-w-what are you?" The man asked. He stared at the five-foot rat pressing him against a wall, in pure shock. This must've been one the mutations Bishop was talking about.

"You work for the E.P.F do you not?"

"Y-ye-yes I-I-I do."

"Where is the girl!? Has she been harmed?" Master Splinter demanded.

"She's…she's fine! That's why I came here!"

"What do you mean?"

"I wanted to help her! So I left the base and I was coming here to turn Bishop in! He's gone too far this time, and he needs to be stopped."

Master Splinter furrowed his brow. He sensed many of the man's emotions. Fear. Shock. Regret. He also sensed he was telling the truth. He looked into his eyes and saw a man who meant every word he was saying. He eased up a little allowing the man to exhale deeply. "What is your name?"

"Jack." The man responded. "My name is Jack Dawson. I work for the E.P.F and meant _every _word I said. The little girl…April. She's back at the base right now, I left to come get help….I'm guessing you're one of her…_friends_."

"Indeed, I am Jack. You are telling the truth?"

"I _swear_ on my mother's grave." Jack replied.

Master Splinter decided to believe him and continued speaking. "You are not…afraid?" Master Splinter asked.

Jack just smiled. "Not anymore…not anymore."

"I want you to take me to your base, Jack."

"But-but what if you get caught?"

"What do you care if I do?"

"I dunno…you seem like a nice man. Rat. Rat-man. Whatever. And…well…let's just say I've seen one of Bishops experiments. No living thing should go through that."

"I see…but I want to go."

"Wouldn't you rather let the cops handle it?"

"This is a _personal _matter."

"Understood…well…I'll take you there on one condition."

"What may that be?"

"Let me help you. I know this is personal, but you'll need me if you want to make it through there undetected."

Master Splinter thought for a moment he _would_ need help if he was going to sneak in. "Very well, Jack. I accept your offer."

Jack smiled. "Now come one, there's no telling what Bishop is doing to that girl." So Jack and Master Splinter made their way to the SUV and climbed in. They sped off and headed back to the base. Both of them, completely unaware, of the four, mutant, ninja, turtles, who were hiding in the trunk.

**(A/N): Yaaay! The turtles, Master Splinter, and Jack to the rescuuuueeeee. Next chapter will explain how the turtles got in the trunk annnnnnnnnd WHO WANTS TO SEE BISHOP GET SOME GOOD OLD KARMA! If you do, tune in next time when I update. Before you leave, be sure to press the little, review button. Because, every time you leave a review, a sugurplum fairy is born, and every time you don't a sugurplum fairy withers and dies. Don't let sugurplum fairies wither and die! Do you really want to be responsible for that? Of course you don't! So review! (I apologize for any mistakes)**


	9. Chapter 9

**(A/N): Hiya, we're nearing the end here. :-'( This should be the second to last chapter. But no worries, a sequel is coming up soon and my head is full ideas that hope you guys like. I'm going to post a sneak peek. I have a lot of ideas and I'm eager to write. You guys, like the sound of that? Well, time for shout outs! As usual my awesome reviewers, Nightlightbee, Zuleora, IAmTheDragonEmpress, Wingnut 2.0, and Livangel16 You guys are awesome! Now, if you excuse me. I'm going to go add all of your screen names to my Microsoft dictionary…the little red squiggly lines are pissing me off…. **

"Mikey, get your shell out of my face." Don whined. The four of them had been packed in the trunk for quite some time now.

"Get your face out of my shell!" Don sneered back.

"Will you two keep it, down! We can't let Master Splinter and the human know we're in here!" Leo scolded.

"Hey, who is that guy anyway? You think he has anything to do with April?" Raph asked.

"Maybe, Master Splinter got in the car with him." Mikey said.

"Uh-oh, we're coming to a stop!" Don exclaimed. And sure enough, the truck was slowing down, and soon enough it came to a complete stop, and two car doors slammed.

"What are gonna do now?" Mikey yelled.

"MIKEY!" The others exclaimed.

"What the hell…" Jack said. The four of them heard footsteps and moments later, the door to the trunk opened and they all tumbled out onto the ground at the man's feet. Who looked down at them with a look shock on his face.

"My sons, what are you doing!?" Master Splinter yelled as the four turtles stood up.

"_Sons_?! But you're a-….and they're…._how _the hellis that _possible_?!" Jack asked.

"We can explain Master Splinter!" Leo said.

"There is _no _explanation, you disobeyed me!"

"Is _anyone _going to explain this to me!?"

Leo started. "Just give us a chance sensei. So after you the left the lair-

"_Lair_?! WHAT IS GOING ON!?"

Leo, gave Jack a dirty look before continuing. "So we left the lair and we all were all sitting around wondering what we could do to help. So Raph got the idea to go with you to the surface, we just went to a different manhole cover, and hid in another alley. It was across the street from April's apartment. So we saw that guy get out a truck and start walking over, then he walked into the alley and we saw you attack him. We were wondering whether or not we should go over there, but then we saw the two of come out and get in the truck. We found out the trunk was open and sneaked in just as you got inside it." Leo looked up at Master Splinter hoping that his explanation would make sense to him. "We only wanted to help find April."

"So you guys are the other mutants she befriended?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, you know where she is?" Leo shot back trying to sound intimidating.

"I do, that's why I bought your um…._dad_ here. I was gonna help you guys get her out." Jack said. "And you guys are…"

"These are my disobedient, yet caring sons; "Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo." Master Splinter explained. "While I admire their bravery and concern it shall be dealt with when we get home."

"Okay then…weird names. I'm Jack." Jack said.

"I assume you have a plan to get us into the base, Jack." Master Splinter said turning his attention to him.

Jack's eyes wandered around until he saw a large abandon cart that was often use to carry radioactive suits, to and from the bio-labs. His lips twisted into a grin. "Yeah, I have a plan."

Agent Bishop was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. _Nothing _worked on April. She just sat there, her face covered in bruises from multiple slaps and started back at him calmly. There were very few methods he was able to use on her. Any other materials that were used for interrogation would kill her seeing as how they were made for full sized adults, rather than small children. And he knew he couldn't kill her. That was cost him his only ticket to finding the mutants he desired. April knew it as well. He was tired, upset, and fighting a losing battle to an eight year old. He took a deep breath and relaxed his muscles. "Look April, we have been at this for hours and both of us want to stop. So why don't you just do the two of us a favor and tell me what I want to know."

April looked sarcastically thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. "No." She said simply.

Agent Bishop screamed in anger and frustration. He opened the door and called in one of his flunkies. "Yes, sir?" The man asked.

"I need to step out for a moment. Keep an eye on her!" Agent Bishop snarled as he stormed out. The man looked at April who stared back at him blankly, though inside, she was smiling. She suddenly had a plan.

"You sure this is gonna work?" Don asked Jack as he was lifted up and then set down in the large cart. Jack's plan was simple. Get in, Get April, let Master Splinter kick Bishop's ass, get out, then live the rest of his life as if none of this happened, just as he had promised Master Splinter during the long ride to the base.

"Don't worry. This plan is full proof. As long as you stay hidden and _quiet_; we'll have you and friend out of here in no time."

"What if someone wants to search this thing?" Asked Raph.

"No one will want to check, as long as you guys stay quiet. And even if someone _does _check, this thing is big enough for you guys to maneuver around so no one will catch you. Perfectly simple."

"And how do you plan to get April out?" Leo asked sternly. He still didn't trust Jack. Even if he did agree to help them, he still worked for the man took April and most likely hurt her, if not worse. It didn't matter to him how much he helped, he worked for a man that messed with April. _That _was unforgiveable no matter what.

"I'll have to distract Bishop. I'll tell him he has a call or something, then sneak her in and roll away. He'll go check, I'll say I didn't see anything, he'll lead a wild goose chase around the facility, and by the time he realizes what happened, the cops will there to arrest him." Jack said.

"Sounds good to me. Just make sure I get a piece of this…_Bishop_ guy." Raph growled.

Jack smiled. "Who knows maybe we all will. Alright, everyone all set?"

Master Splinter exchanged looks with his sons and they all nodded. Jack gave them a thumbs up and was about to start throwing in suits when he stopped. "Here take this." He says handing them a small communicator. I'll be able to keep in contact with you through my headset."

Master Splinter took the device and nodded. Jack then began to toss in suit after suit until it was piled to the very top. He turned his headset on and said, "Everything alright down there?"

There was a pause before he got a response. "Yes, Jack we are fine. You can proceed." Master Splinter answered in a whisper. Jack nodded and began to push the cart into the building. No one gave him any strange looks. In fact, no one paid him any attention at all. He kept walking through the halls until finally he, he came to the interrogation room. He opened the door, bracing for whatever he was about to see, but to his surprise the room was empty. No Bishop. No April. Nothing.

"Uh, Splinter. It looks like we have a _slight_ problem."

**(A/N): This part takes place a few minutes before the guys and Jack arrived**

"I have to potty." She said in her innocent little girl voice.

"Oh no, you little brat I'm not falling for that." The man said.

"But I _really _have to. I haven't gone in a really long time, and if I don't go soon I'll go in my pants." April said pleadingly. She widened her eyes and poked out her bottom lip.

"Look, kid I already told you, I'm not falling for that. So if you really have to go then I guess you'll have to wet yourself."

"It's not _wetting _myself I'm worried about." April said.

The man's head snapped up and he stared at her. "You mean you-

"Please mister, I can't hold iiiiit." April whined.

"Okay, okay, _fine_. Come one." The man said. He walked over to April and grabbed her arm and hurriedly pulled her behind him to where the bathrooms were which just so happened to be an empty hallway.

"Alright, kid you have two minutes. Get in, do your business, get out. You got it?"

April nodded and he let go of her arm. The second he did, April kicked him in his shin, causing his knees to buckle. He fell to ground, screaming profane words. Once he was on his knees, April grabbed the door handle to the bathroom and yanked the steel door open, hitting him in the face. There was a cracking sound and the man fell down, unconscious. Pleased with what she had accomplished, April took off down the hallway leaving the unconscious man behind. She kept running until she came to a corner, she looked around the corner and didn't see anyone, so she continued down the hall.

She heard voices behind her and froze, thinking quickly she dove into a nearby closet and waited for the voices to pass. Once they were gone she kept running down the hallway. She was approaching a door, when suddenly; a hand clasped around her mouth and yanked her into another room. She began to kick and struggle and release muffled screams in to the hand covering her mouth, until she heard a familiar voice.

"Kid, calm...down…I'm not gonna hurt you just relax."

At the sound of the voice April stopped struggling and looked up to see the blonde man from the interrogation room looking down at her, next to him was a huge cart overflowing with radioactive suits. "You remember me right?" He asked his hand still over her mouth.

April nodded and the man released her. "What are you doing?" She asked in a whisper.

"Taking your advice. I'm busting you out of here. Annnd…" The man pulled off some of the suits and before April was able to react and green turtle in an orange mask flew from out the cart and tackled her down to the ground in a hug. "April! You're alive!" He exclaimed happily. Everyone scolded and shushed him and he gave a sheepish grin. "Sorry," He whispered. "April! You're alive!" He said in a much lower tone this time.

April cocked her head, then smiled before returning his hug. The two of them got up hugged again. "Mikey what are you doing here?"

"We came to rescue you!" He said happily.

"_We_? The others are here too?" April said looking at the cart. As a response Don, Raph and Leo leapt from the cart. Don ran over to her squeezed her tightly. Even Raph engulfed her in a hug. When they pulled away Leo stepped over. For a moment they were just standing there holding each other's gaze, when finally Leo grabbed April and hugged so that her arms were pinned to her side.

"April, I'm so glad you're okay! I was so worried! I thought I…I thought I…I thought I lost you…

"Leo, I'm fine, don't worry. I'm still here." April said with a chuckle. "But, you're squeezing me too tight." Instantly Leo pulled away from her, "Sorry." He mumbled.

"Where's Master Splinter?" April asked.

"I am here." Master Splinter said climbing from the cart.

"Master Splinter, I didn't tell them anything I swear I-

Master Splinter silenced her by putting a paw to her mouth. "I know you didn't. And I am very grateful for that, but I sincerely apologize for the consequences you suffered because of your actions."

"I'm fine Master Splinter, really." April said encouragingly. She wrapped her arms around Master Splinter and buried her face in his robe.

Jack looked on as the little girl held the giant rat in embrace. It was very surreal, the scene in front of him. Four mutant turtles and a giant mutant rat, taking turns embracing a human girl. While it was very surreal, it was heartwarming. For a moment he forgot that they were all a different species, and just saw them as a one big, happy family. No _wonder _she wouldn't give them up. No wonder she didn't want them harmed, they were her _family_ and Bishop just saw them as a biology project. It was at that moment that getting them all out of safely became more important than it ever was before. He cleared his throat and April and Splinter separated.

"I'd hate to break up your reunion be we gotta go. The sooner we leave the easier it'll be to get you guys out of here." Jack said.

"He is right." Master Splinter said leaping back into the cart. "We must make haste if we are to leave here alive." So Jack helped the rest of them into the cart, before piling the suits back on top of them and pushing them out of the room and down the hallway. All the while, the six them, stayed under there, huddled closely together, not wanting to let go.


	10. Chapter 10

**(A/N): Two Chapters in one night! WooHoo! I hope everyone enjoys this little double dose. **

Once he had regained his composure, Agent Bishop made his way back to the interrogation room. When he was within a few yards of the room he found the door wide open and made a sprint for the doorway. When he got there he was surprised to find the room empty. "No…no, no, no, no, NO!" He screamed. There was the sound of feet shuffling towards him; and he turned to see the man he'd left in charge. Before he was able to speak, Agent Bishop grabbed him, and slammed him into a wall.

"Where…is the girl?" He asked, His voice was trembling and sounded so bitter and irate, that the man against the wall was hardly able to find his voice.

"WHERE?!" He roared.

"S-s-she said had to go to t-t-the b-b-b-bathroom, so I t-t-took her and when we got there s-s-she-she blindsided me." The man said shakily.

Agent Bishop laughed humorlessly. "You let yourself get blindsided, by an EIGHT YEAR OLD GIRL!? SHE COULD HAVE _ESCAPED_! I _NEED _THAT INFORMATION! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT'LL HAPPEN TO ME IF I DON'T GET THAT INFORMATION! I MADE A DEAL WITH _HIM_!" A few people standing in the room turned their attention to Agent Bishop at the sound of his booming voice.

Agent Bishop gave him one last snarl before pushing him away roughly. He slammed his fist on the wall and let out an angry roar. Then, he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a gun and aimed at the man who was responsible for April escaping. The man, looked back just in time to see a bullet land straight between eyes. He let out a brief bark of pain before falling to ground. Eyes wide open and staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Let that be a warning to _anyone _else who plans on acting like a dumbass today. Understood?"

"Yes Agent Bishop." Said several voices in unison.

"Good, now someone get that mess cleaned up." Agent Bishop said. Instantly two people came in and picked the dead man up in a sheet, then carried him off. Agent Bishop ignored the wide eyed looks he was getting as he made his way down the hall. "If you want something done right do it yourself." He said out loud.

He made his was way to the hall where the man had taken April to use the restroom, and sure enough there was a tiny smudge of blood on the door. He rounded the corner and continued to walk down the hallway. "She couldn't have gotten that far." He muttered to himself. As he was walking he saw Jack pass by, pushing a cart full of radioactive, bio-hazard suits. "Agent Dawson!" He called.

Jack froze and slowly turned around to see Agent Bishop approaching him. "Agent Bishop sir, how can I assist you?" He asked formally.

"The O'Neil girl escaped. She was last seen in this area, have you seen her?"

"If I had, I would've reported sir. But I will keep an eye out, and contact you if I see anything." Jack said. His voice sounded nervous this time.

"Dawson, are you _hiding_ something from me?" Agent Bishop asked eyeing the cart.

"No sir, I am not."

"Where are you taking those suits? I don't ever re-call you being in charge of transporting them."

"The guy who does them was looking a little under the weather and I decided to help him out." Jack answered. Agent Bishop noticed sweat that was beginning to fall down Jack's face. His eyes wandered once again to the cart and then back to Jack.

"Bullshit, Dawson is you _are _hiding something from me, and I want to know it is, _now_."

"I already told you sir, I'm not hiding anything."

"Then let me check the cart."

Jack sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, _Bishop_! If you want to check the cart, then go ahead and check the cart!" Jack yelled.

From inside the cart Master Splinter heard the entire conversation between the two men, including Jack's less than subtle warning at the end.

"Thanks." Agent Bishop said, then out nowhere, and to the surprise of everyone, he kicked the cart over causing everyone inside to tumble out and onto the floor.

"Uh-oh." Mikey said.

Agent Bishop stood back and marveled at the sight in front of the front of him. He stood, there frozen. Deciding to take advantage of this, Jack roundhouse kicked Agent Bishop in the face causing him to stumble back. Then, he was able to grab the gun from the inside of his jacket. "Come one! We gotta get out of here!" Jack yelled. He let the turtles, Splinter, April, rush ahead of him as he followed behind him casting looks back at Agent Bishop who was slowly getting to his feet.

"Where do we go, Jack!" Master Splinter asked as he ran. Jack's eyes wandered around the hallway until he found an empty chemical lab with the door open. "In here! Hurry!" He yelled. He let the others rush in as he followed and closed the door behind them. "What do we do now?" Mikey asked worriedly. As Jack was looking around frantically for an escape. The door swung open and in the doorway, stood an irate Agent Bishop.

"Enough games, Dawson! You either get out of my way, or you go down trying to be a hero. Either way, I'm letting you ruin this for me!"

"Sorry Bishop, but I can't let you do this. These are _living _creatures. You can't just treat them as some sort of of…_experiment_." Jack shot back aiming the gun at Bishop.

"Oh so that's how you wanna do this huh? Fine, the sooner I get you out of the way, the sooner I get what I want." Agent Bishop suddenly charged at Jack with lightning speed and knocked the gun out of his hand before he could react. He delivered a kick to his head and sent him flying backwards, no longer a barrier between April, the turtles and Master Splinter. Master Splinter stepped forward in front the four children and took a defense stance.

Agent Bishop laughed. "Really? You think you stand a chance against me, _freak_."

"I am _sure _of it." Master Splinter said. He leaped in the air and kicked Agent Bishop in the skull, causing him stumble backwards. Agent Bishop regained his footing and sent a fist Master Splinter's way only to have it blocked and be slapped with his tail. The two engaged in battle as the five children looked on helplessly. Agent Bishop grabbed a large test tube, and smashed it on the table before slashing Master Splinters arm with it, causing him to temporarily lose momentum.

"What do we do?" Mikey asked as Agent Bishop sent Master Splinter flying backwards into a wall.

"I say, we kick his, butt!" Raph yelled.

"Raph's right, we have to so help Master Splinter!" Leo said.

"Yeah, let's get him!" Don added. So after agreeing to help their Sensei, the five children charged at Agent Bishop. Each of them grabbing on to a different part of him. Mikey jumped in his back and started to repeatedly punch him face, making it difficult for him to see as he stumbled backwards, before falling to the ground. Once he fell down, Raph climbed onto a nearby desk. "This is for kidnapping my sister, you _jerk_!" Raph leapt off the table with elbow pointing downwards so that it connected with Agent Bishop's stomach when he landed. Meanwhile Mikey was still punching him the face, while April and Don kicked him is sides. Meanwhile was executed every kata he'd learned to do on a downed opponent. Letting all the rage he had bottled up, out on Agent Bishop.

"Get off me you little freaks!" Agent Bishop yelled. He was able to yank Mikey off of his head, and hurl him across the room before kicking Raph away. He shoved Don and grabbed a clump of April's hair and tossing her away as well, before shoving Leo off in her direction, causing him to topple down on her. He blushed and quickly rolled off.

When he got to his feet, he was clutching the area where Raph elbow slammed him; his nose looked like a squashed tomato from being punching so many times. His sides were aching from being kicked so much. "If you freaks think you're gonna get away with that, you're wrong. I am going to own you all soon! You belong somewhere on dissection table! Not roaming around like your lives are actually worth some-

Before Agent Bishop was able to finish his sentence Master Splinter charged at him. He leapt into the air and delivered several bicycle kicks to his stomach, he then hits a pressure point in Agent Bishop's neck that knocks him to the ground, temporarily paralyzing him. He stood over him and glared. "_No one_ speaks of my family that way. Now I would I advise you to leave us all be, because if you try to harm any 0my children again, you will have to answer to me." Master Splinter moved away from Agent Bishop and over to Jack who was just now getting up.

"What did I miss?" He asked rubbing the area on his head where he was kicked.

"Agent Bishop is taken care of, we must get out of here while we can. Do you know a way?" Master Splinter asked.

"Yeah, the laundry chute over there, it leads to basement." Jack said.

"And where do we go from there?"

"All of the basements have underground train cars. We can set the coordinates to get back to the city."

"Good. Come, we must all leave now!" Master Splinter said to April and his sons. They all rushed over to him and slid down the laundry chute. There was no basket but they all landed on their feet. They were followed by Master Splinter, then Jack.

"Come on this way!" He yelled running past them. He led them over to a corner far across the room. He pushed some buttons on a control panel and the wall opened revealing a single slick, black car the size of one on a subway.

"Well, this is our ticket home guys. Just push that button there to open the door then all we have to do is-

Jack was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot. For a moment he just there, then he coughed up some blood and fell to ground blood oozing from a bullet wound on his back, causing April and the turtles to scream. They looked up to see Agent Bishop limping towards them with a gun in his hands. "All of you, in the car, now!"

"Jack!" Master Splinter said. He kneeled down next to him and rolled him onto his back so he was looking at him. "Jack? Can you hear me! We must leave now!"

"Splinter..." Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out a small thin card. "Use it…use it to access the…car…"

Master Splinter took the card him. He looked up and saw Agent Bishop getting closer. He was still limping slowly as he made his way towards them.

"Alright, I will use it now come on!"

"No….no thanks….I'm tired…I think I'll rest…besides…" Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out a detonator. "I have…I have a present for my boss."

"Jack, you cannot seriously be thinking of destroying this place! What of the other people?" Another shot rang as Agent Bishop got closer.

"Screw the…other people…they're all….they're all just like him….this place _needs _be destroyed….I set some up bombs here…a while ago…but I was too scared to set them off…..things are different now….I always kept the detonator…just in case I got my courage back…" Jack coughed up more blood.

"Master Splinter we have to go! He'll be over here soon!" Leo said from inside the car. He had gotten everyone in there safely and was now waiting for his father.

"I am coming Leonardo! Get back in the car!" Master Splinter called back to him. Master Splinter looked back down at Jack who was turning pale. Blood was oozing from the area on his back where Agent Bishop shot him.

"It was a pleasure to know you….even if it was just for one day….it was a pleasure Mr. Dawson."

"Take care Splinter…and don't worry….you secret will be safe with me. Now get out of here…..you don't wanna be here…when I push this button…." Jack said. He gave Master Splinter a weak bloody smile, and moved his thumb onto the detonator button. Agent Bishop was now only a few yards away.

Master Splinter left Jack's side and made his way into the car just as Bishop reached them. He climbed into the car and locked it from the inside. He ignored the sound of Bishop banging on the door and slid the card through the only card slot he saw. He quickly set the coordinates for New York and took off down the tunnel at lighting at speed. They rode in silence for about 15 second before an explosion from the basement, destroying the base and taking Agent Bishop, and Jack along with it.

**(A/N): Well while the ending was less than pleasant, at least the guys got out okay! And, Bishop got his karma! Yay, woohoo! Now why don't you go and push the little review button, and tell me what you think? Leave a review and I'll give you a pudding cup! Cuz, who doesn't love pudding! **


	11. Chapter 11

**(A/N): Okay, guys. This is going to be the last chapter before the epilogue. Now, I previously promised that I would post a sneak peak of chapter one of the sequel. And hopefully, I'll have that up tonight. The epilogue is gonna be really short. So I should have plenty uploaded for you guys. Well, time for shout outs! Once again, a huge shout out to my reviewers: Livangel16, Nightlightbee, IAmTheDragonEmpress, Wingnut- III mean Leonardo's Adriene, Zuleora, and I Love Kittens Too. You guys are awesome!**

For most of ride back to New York the Hamatos and April rode in silence. Aside the from the fact they were exhausted from the events of the last 24 hours, they were all thinking about Jack; the man who they had known for less than a day that just gave his life for them, and helped them escape. He treated them just as April did. Like equals, and he had just died for them. It was like they had all been punched in the stomach. The thought of him dead was gut wrenching. Leo felt the worst. He started off hating Jack. He didn't trust him, doubted him from the start, thought he was just as evil as Agent Bishop. But despite everything he thought, he was wrong. Jack had helped his family, and gave his life for them, and none of them got the chance to thank him.

After about a half hour of riding in silence, they arrived in New York. The train car stopped in an abandon area of a subway station. After a quick scan around the area, Master Splinter allowed his sons and April to leave the car. Nearby was a stairwell that led back to the surface, and across the street was a police station.

"I recognize these tunnels; I will be able to take my sons back home. Will you be fine to get the Police Station by yourself April?" Master Splinter asked.

April nodded and turned to leave. She turned back when she realized that she forgot to say good-bye, but when she looked back, they were already gone. She smiled. Typical ninjas. She hurried over to the stairwell and made her way back to the surface of the city. The streets of course, were busy. No one paid any attention, to a bruised, tired, looking girl, who had just emerged from an abandon subway station all by herself. It was New York after all. April waited for the cars to stop before running across the street to the Police Station. She pushed the door open and walked into the building. She was looking around when someone tapped her on her shoulder. She turned around to see a tall, African-American man in a crisp, blue cop uniform. He squatted down so he was looking into her eyes.

"How, can I help you young lady? Are you lost? Wait a minute…you look familiar…are you-

"April O'Neil. Yes."

The man's eyes widened and he fumbled around in his pocket and pulled out a radio. "Attention all units, call off the search. O'Neil has been found, I repeat O'Neil has been found." He slid the radio back into his pocket and led April over to a chair. It was leather. When she sat in it she sighed as she sank down. After spending the past few hours sitting in a metal chair, it was very relieving to actually be comfortable. The man picked up a phone on the front desk and dialed a number. "Hello? Ms. O'Neil, this is Officer Henry Phillip's from the NYPD downtown. We need you to come into the station. Your daughters fine we fou-…Ms. O'Neil? Hello?" Henry chuckled and then hung up the phone. He turned to April and said, "You're family is on their way. Can I get you anything?"

"No, thank you sir. I'm fine." April said with a small smile. Henry nodded and sat down in the chair next to her and waited for her family to arrive. After 15 minutes of waiting the front door opened and a woman wearing a business suit, a teenage girl wearing a short party dress and sneakers, and large man in a suit ran over to her. April's mother reached her first. Her eyes were puffy and tears were falling down her face. When she saw April she ran over, to her, snatched her from the chair and held her tightly in a hug, crying hysterically into her shoulder. Robyn knelt down and did the same. Then moments later her father kneeled down and pulled all three of them into his embrace. He looked up at Henry and gave him a small nod of thanks.

"Do we have to stay for anything?" He asked, his wife, and daughters still wrapped in his large arms.

"Nah, you guys go home. Just have her here tomorrow to answer some questions." Henry said.

"Alright, come on. Robyn, take your sister out to the car." Liam said.

April started to walk but Robyn picked April up so that her legs were wrapped tightly around her waist and her head rested on her shoulder. "Just for the record, if you _ever _scare me like that again, I'll kill you. You got that brat?" Robyn said. April looked up at her sister and smiled and nodded, then let her head fall back onto her shoulder. Meanwhile her parents were back in station.

"Thank you, so much for finding her, sir." Carlyn said. Her eyes still wet with tears.

"Oh, I didn't find her. She just walked right in and told me her name. Smart kid." Henry said.

"Yeah she is." Liam said. "Now, do you have any idea who did this yet?"

"No sir. We'll have to question her about it tomorrow. Like, the other guys told you, the E.P.F is thought to be a _myth_. If they are somehow responsible for her disappearance it's going to be hard to come up with anything. Surely you understand, Mr. O'Neil?"

Liam clenched his fist and grimaced. Carlyn wiggled her hand into his and gave him a small, reassuring smile. Liam squeezed her hand back. "Yes sir. I understand…all that matters now is that she's safe." Liam and Caryn both shook hand with Henry before leaving the station and walking out to the car. Once they were inside, they looked in the back seat they smiled at the sight of their two daughters asleep. April's head was resting on Robyn's shoulder and Robyn had her head on top of April's. Her arms were wrapped protectively around her body.

Liam and Carlyn looked up at each other and smiled. "We have such beautiful children, Liam."

"Indeed we do Carlyn." He turned his head so that he was looking into her swamp green eyes. "Let's make sure this _never _happens again. _Ever_. If April hadn't come back…"

"Shh, this won't happen again, Liam. Now let's go home." Carlyn said. Liam smiled and kissed Caryn's forehead. He started the car and drove home.

From the stairwell of the abandon subway station, watched a heart-warmed Master Splinter and his sons.

"Come, my sons. We must home as well. We have….things to discuss. Very important things.

"But Master Splinter…" His sons whined in unison.

"We shall rest later on but….like I said, the matters we must speak of are important."

Mikey let out a dramatic sigh then said, "Good! I'm sooo tired right now. Especially after _I _took Bishop down. He was no match for, the Turtle Titan!"

Raph grimaced and slapped him on the back of head.

"Hey! What was that for?" Mikey whined as he rubbed his head.

"You were being _stupid_." Raph said.

"Raph you are such a meanie! When I'm a superhero and I get my super powers, I am soo going to-

"Mikey calm down. He's just mad because he's tired. He'll probably never do it again." Don said as he started back down the stairs after Master Splinter. Mikey just rolled his eyes and mumbled as he followed them. Leo stayed back and watched the spot where April's car used to be. He smiled at the thought of it taking her back to safety as he followed after his brothers and Master Splinter back home. Already anticipating his next visit with April.

When the O'Neil's returned home, they decided not to wake Robyn and April. Instead, they each carried one of them up to their bedroom. They set them in the middle of their king sized bed before climbing in beside either one of them. Little, April squashed protectively in the middle of them. They stayed like that for hours, making sure no one ever took her from them again.

When April woke up, she was sweating from the family members she was sandwiched between. Her throat was dry and her stomach was growling so she decided to get up and go get a snack. She managed to escape from between her sister and mother and tip-toed down stairs. Once she was downstairs she entered the kitchen and got a cup of water and some crackers. She was sitting down when she heard voices outside the backdoor.

"I don't wanna this! She'll be so sad, Master Splinter!"

_Mikey?_ April left the chair and opened the door before creeping out the back door. She looked around the alley and saw Master and his sons. Master Splinter was setting a note down on the step. He looked somber and behind him Mikey was crying. Raph looked angry, and tears of his own were falling down his face. Don was staring at her with sad eyes, while Leo just hung back, all the color was gone from face and eyes were wet and full of sadness.

"What's wrong? Why do all of you look sad? And what's the note for?" April asked feeling worried.

Master Splinter sighed as he exchanged glances with his sons. "April…I do not know how to say this…but….we can no longer be your friends."

April blinked several times and her heart skipped a beat. She gapped as she tried to find the right words to say. "W-w-w-w-what do you mean?"

"The experience with Agent Bishop and the E.P.F has made me realize just how dangerous it is for you to have any relation to us. The danger is too great, especially for a child as young as yourself. We cannot risk this happening again." Master Splinter said. "After tonight…you will never see or speak with any of us again. This note was supposed to be a good-bye."

April stood there frozen, her lip began to tremble before her mouth cracked into a smile "Th-this…this is a joke right? A joke to cheer me up? It's a joke isn't Mikey?" April said. She looked over at the orange clad turtle who just hung his head.

"Mikey….this isn't funny anymore….it's a joke…..IT'S A JOKE! THIS ISN'T REAL! TELL THEM IT'S A JOKE! TELL THEM IT'S A JOKE NOW!" April exclaimed. Her voice getting darker and angrier as she spoke. Tears began to fall down her face and she was shaking with anger and sadness.

"Mikey! Mikey please! This is a joke!...Raph! Raph tell it's not true! Raph please tell them this isn't supposed to be happening!"

Raph opened his mouth to speak but closed it and turned away as more tears fell down his face.

April whimpered and turned to Don. "Donnie please! Y-y-y-you can't do this to me….YOU'RE JUST LIKE ME! WE LIKE THE SAME THINGS! You…you can't stop being my friend! Who's gonna read…who's gonna read robot books with me…and…and do homework with me….Don please!"

Don just stared at her. His heart sinking as she spoke. She then turned to Leo. By now she was barely able to speak. "Leo….LEO! SAY SOMETHING! PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!"

Leo said nothing. He stood faraway away staring at her. His face still pale. His eyes were filling with tears.

"No….no please no! Master Splinter please! Master Splinter please! Please don't leave me!"

Master Splinter wasn't able to stop the tears in her eyes as she begged. "I am sorry, April…but we must go…."

"No…this isn't real. It's a nightmare! I'm asleep right now! Wake up! Wake up April! I'm asleep. I'm asleep. I'm asleep. I'm asleep. I asleep." But no matter how many times she told herself this, she never woke up from her nightmare. She buried her face in her hands and rested her back against a wall. When she looked up they were gone.

"NOO!" She screamed. She ran down the alley and turned the corner just as the manhole cover slid into place. She began trying move the manhole, but it suddenly began to rain, making it impossible for her to get the lid off, without her hands slipping. She gave up and began banging on the lid.

"NOOO! COME BACK!"

_Bang!_

"MIKEY!"

_Bang!_

"DONNIE!"

_Bang!_

"RAPHIE!"

_Bang!_

"Master Splinter!"

_Bang!_

There was a small pause. She sat there sobbing before she called the last one.

"LEEEEOOOO!"

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

"PLEASE! COME BACK! ALL OF YOU! DON'T LEAVE ME!"

"April! April what the hell are you doing out here! Are you out of your mind! You can't go wandering around like that! We just got you back! You scared your mother half to death! You're coming home _now_!" The sound of his voice came out of nowhere. He reached down and tried to pick her up but she snatched away angrily.

"Dammit, April. C'mon!" He said. This time he caught her and picked her up and began hauling her back home.

"NO! DADDY PUT ME DOWN! LET GO!" She screamed. She kicked and struggled the entire time he carried her back home, but it was useless. Her father had and iron grip. She finally gave up and went limp in his arms as she sobbed. They were gone.

Mikey. The fun energetic one. The only one who understood her creative nature. They shared so many laughs. Every night was positive for them. No matter how bad things were going they always something to look forward to, some kind of light at the end of the long, dark tunnel. They would cheer everyone else up whenever they were upset.

Donnie. The smart, eccentric for one. She had never met anyone who had the passion for science that she did. They sit around for hours, discussing every scientific topic under the sun. They would always exchange knowledge. Donnie would tell her about the history of Japan from stories Master Splinter told them. April would tell him more about Irish culture, even taught him a little bit of Irish.

Raph. The tough one. They spent more time together then she ever thought they would. She was able to tell that he was gentler with her then she was with his brothers. He allowed her to get away with calling Raphie, while when one of his brothers did it, he got upset. They understood why the other would be so shy. Though they never talked about anything outside wrestling, they still shared a close enough for bond for them to call each other family.

Master Splinter. The father, the teacher. He would treat her as if she was his own daughter. He taught her ninjitsu, he trusted her with their secret. He was like a father to her, when her own father was too busy to pay her attention. He was so wise. Any time April got upset about something he would say some kind of quote to calm her down. And even though she had no idea what it meant, it made her feel better just to hear his voice.

Leo. The first person she was proud to call a friend since she arrived in America. April loved all of the turtles of dearly, she really did. But there was just something about Leo. It wasn't because he was the first she'd met. It wasn't because of the secret hug and kiss she always gave him. She felt a certain way about him that she didn't feel about the others. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. It was a strange feeling she had…but a very special one.

None of that mattered anymore now. Because they were gone. In fact _nothing _mattered at all. It didn't matter that her mother was crying her eyes out. It didn't matter that her father was punishing her. It didn't matter that her sister was screaming at her, telling how stupid she was. Nothing mattered, now that they were gone.

**(A/N): *blows nose in tissue.* Man, that was hard to write. I actually started tearing up when I wrote this. Didn't really help that I was of the song Tomorrow by Salif Keita. Anyways, tell me what you thought of this in a review. I treasure them. Now if you excuse me I'm going into my bathroom and not cry. **


	12. Epilogue

**Epilogue: ****Okay, this introduces the villain for the sequel. You'll learn his when I start writing ;-)**

"I ask you to do one thing…._one _thing. And you can't even do _that_. I should've never dragged your pathetic hide from under that debris."

Agent Bishop there. Not daring to move. There weren't many things that intimidated him. In fact, _nothing _intimidated Agent Bishop. Nothing except the man in front of him. The man he made a solid deal with. The man who was keeping him alive. He was sitting behind a large Mahogany desk. He was wearing all black clothing, except for a blood red scarf around his neck. His eyes were different colors. His left one was dull gray, while the other completely red. His face was covered in scars. One in particular stretched all the way from his left temple, to the bottom of the left side of his jaw. Where they came from? No one knows. His skin is the color of snow, and his head is completely bald except for the strip of coal black hair that stretches down the middle of his scalp. The rest of his head is completely smooth. His finger nails, are jagged and yellow and his teeth are white and sharpened to a deadly point. He was almost eight feet tall and his muscles were huge. Who _wouldn't_ be intimidated by him?

"Give me one reason. Just _one _reason John. Why shouldn't I cut you off from the supplies you need to continue to remake your pathetic body?"

"Well actually sir-

"SHUT UP! I'm not done yet! You weren't able to crack an _eight-year old girl_. Plus, one of your flunkies was able to blow up your entire base. You _didn't_ get to do experiments and get the results I needed. You _weren't _able to capture the creatures and you _weren't _able to save the years of work we had in your base. _Why _shouldn't I just let you disintegrate the next time your time expires?"

"I was able to get a sample sir." Agent Bishop said through clenched teeth.

"What?"

Agent Bishop reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bag and in it was the broke tube he cut Master Splinter's arm with. He slid it across the desk and into the man's hands.

"Well it looks like I've spoken to soon." He holds up the bag and smiles. "This will do perfectly…"

**(A/N): DUN! DUN! DUUUUUUUUN! So many unanswered questions. Who is this man? Why does he want the DNA? What does he plan to do with it? How will it affect the city? These questions and more will be answered in the sequel. I PROMISE! Well, this fic is finally done! WOOHOO! Thank you soooo much to the guys who followed to the end! I love you guys! Well, now I must ask, who wants a sneak peak of first chapter? Leave a review and tell me what you thought of this story! **


End file.
